The broadcast from Dorotheum states that the year was marked by strong demand, record auctions, multi-million dollar bids, high increases and world record prices in all painting segments. At the “Post-War and Contemporary Art” auction in June, a contemporary Austrian work of art exceeded the million mark for the first time. Maria Lassnig’s painting “Wild Animals Are Endangered” reached 1.368 million euros, a world record price for a work by the artist.
The “Dance of Death 1809” by the Tyrolean painter Albin Egger-Lienz was sold for 1.032 million euros. The bids for Alfons Waldes’ striking “Ascent of the Skiers” climbed to 965,300, also a world record price for the artist.
There were also world record surcharges at the auctions “Old Master Paintings” for the Caravaggist Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri and “Paintings of the 19th Century” for a Venice scenery by Luigi Querena, a mountain panorama by Markus Pernhart and a portrait of the Russian-French painter Marie Bashkirtseff . The auction house also saw great demand for jewelry and watches.
