ZURICH.- The meeting of Swiss artist icons Ferdinand Hodler and Cuno Amiet, and the friendship that resulted, was a significant moment in Swiss art history. Amiet, 16 years younger than Hodler, had been member of the Pont-Aven school along with Émile Bernard and Paul Sérusier, inspired by Paul Gaugin’s use of pure colour. Hodler was already an established and famous artist when they met, and Amiet would remain drawn to the older artist’s style yet firmly exploring his won throughout his career. The portrait in Koller's 21 June auction, commissioned by the important collector Oscar Miller, was completed after several tumultuous sittings in Hodler’s studio (he was known for not being able to sit still). Its counterpart, a slightly later version that Amiet thought Miller would prefer (but who ended up asking for this, more spontaneous version), is in the Kunstmuseum Solothurn (lot 3029, CHF 250 000 / 400 000).

Among the numerous highlights in the Swiss Art auction are a view of the Lake of Geneva by Ferdinand Hodler (lot 3044, CHF 1.6 / 2.4 million), a beautiful example of the artist’s trademark Parallelism, two striking works by Art Brut artist Louis Soutter (lots 3078 and 3081, CHF 150 000 / 200 000 and CHF 200 000 / 300 000), and a series of works by Félix Vallotton, including a haunting still life with strawberries from 1921 (lot 3058, CHF 120 000 / 180 000).

The Impressionist and Modern Art auction on 21 June proposes a Normandy landscape in subtle tones of blue by Pierre Bonnard (lot 3213, CHF 200 000 / 300 000), an 1896 view of the Loing River by Alfred Sisley (lot 3217, CHF 600 000 / 800 000), an atmospheric view of the Pont Neuf by Albert Marquet (lot 3228, CHF 100 000 / 150 000), and dune landscape by Hermann Max Pechstein (lot 3250, CHF 120 000 / 180 000). Works by early 20th-century woman artists are also featured, such as Gabriele Münter’s ‘House on the lake with blue mountains’ from 1933–35 (lot 3247, CHF 120 000 / 200 000), and an autumnal landscape with riders by Marianne von Werefkin (lot 3235, CHF 100 000 / 150 000).

Monumental works by Manolo Valdés (lot 3443, CHF 180 000 / 300 000) and Katharina Grosse (lot 3451, CHF 180 000 / 250 000) headline the PostWar & Contemporary Art auction on 20 June, alongside works by John Armleder, Sylvie Fleury, Victor Vasarely and Niki de Saint Phalle. Banksy’s popularity only continues to grow worldwide, and the Prints & Multiples auction on 20 June includes his famous ‘Flower Thrower Triptych (grey)’ from 2019 (lot 3720, CHF 100 000 / 180 000). Andy Warhol is represented in the auction by a colour screenprint from his ‘Goethe’ series from 1982 (lot 3716, CHF 60 000 / 90 000).

Over 300 lots of Jewellery will be offered on 19 June, including a very rare Fancy Intense purplish-pink diamond (lot 2265, CHF 100 000 / 150 000). In the Watches auction on 17 June, an early Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watch is certain to excite serious watch collectors (lot 2885, CHF 180 000 / 360 000). The Asian Art auctions on 18 June feature a painting by revered Chinese artist Lin Fengmian, much of whose work was destroyed during the upheavals of early Communist China and the Cultural Revolution (lot 251, CHF 180 000 / 250 000). And the fourth edition of Out of This World on 17 June will feature a complete fossil of a Dryosaurus, a beautifully preserved 150-million-year-old herbivore that measures over 2 ½ metres long (lot 4032, CHF 380 000 / 600 000).