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Asger Jorn Worth Millions: Liberation Image from 1945 Sold at Auction

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Asger Jorn Worth Millions: Liberation Image from 1945 Sold at Auction

Tuesday, Bruun Rasmussen marked the 75th anniversary of Denmark's liberation in style when a work by the Danish artist Asger Jorn came under the hammer at a Live Auction in Copenhagen.

The hammer price of the work "Landscape in Finkidong", which came into being in 1945, was no less than DKK 3.7 million (€ 645,000 including buyer’s premium) – a pleasant surprise for the auction house’s specialists, who had estimated the work to be worth DKK 2.5 million (€ 335,000).

"It is a work of museum quality. It has everything you could wish for in a painting from this period – the happy colours, the many figures and the festive mood from the time right after the liberation of Denmark. It is an impressive and not least well-deserved hammer price," says Niels Raben, Head of the Department of Modern Art at Bruun Rasmussen.

Critique of the Occupation Forces

With its colours, lush landscape and glorious sun, "Landscape in Finkidong" presents itself as a life-affirming liberation painting – as if it were an attempt to encapsulate the euphoric mood felt in the wake of Denmark’s liberation in 1945. The work is related to one of the most crucial paintings of the period, "Guganaga", which today belongs to ARoS and was the first painting Jorn completed after the liberation of Denmark.

"Landscape in Finkidong" belongs to Jorn's early period, where, in collaboration with a number of artists and poets, he published the culturally and socially critical wartime journal "Helhesten" (The Hell Horse). With Modernist art and articles on everything from African masks to jazz music, the contributors delivered a both humorous and scathing provocation of the German occupation force.

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Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers is one of Scandinavia’s leading international auction houses, and one of Denmark’s oldest. It all started on 6 October 1948, when Arne Bruun Rasmussen conducted the first traditional auction in the saleroom at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen. Today, Jesper Bruun Rasmussen stands at the helm of the family-run business together with the third generation of the family, his son Frederik and daughter Alexa, and the company’s CEO Jakob Dupont.

In 2004, the first Online Auction was launched, and today the auction house has expanded to include departments in Copenhagen and Aarhus and representations in Sweden, Germany, England, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain, Italy, Thailand and the US. About 100,000 lots are put up for auction each year at the Live Auctions, the daily Online Auctions and - the latest edition - Direct Auctions. Here you can bid on everything from art, antiques, modern design and jewellery to books, coins, stamps, wine and weaponry.

Contacts

Kirstine Dam Olsen

Kirstine Dam Olsen

Press contact +45 8818 1064

Bruun Rasmussen – Part of the Bonhams Network

"Going once, going twice. Sold to the lady in the front row". For more than 75 years, the auction house Bruun Rasmussen has sold art, antiques, design, jewellery, wristwatches and collector’s items such as wine, books, coins and stamps. After having been family-owned through three generations, we were bought in 2022 by the English auction house Bonhams, which was founded in England in 1793 and is today one of the world's leading auction houses. We are now part of an international network with a global reach, and we present and sell art where it makes the most sense in relation to potential buyers. This also means that through the network we offer more than 60 categories of items at our auctions.

Art and credibility are at the heart of everything we do. The work in the auction house places great demands on our knowledge of art and trends on the market. Our specialists are the most experienced and competent in the industry, and in the Bonhams Network we share knowledge and communicate across national borders with a large number of international specialists. This way, we can provide the best valuation and advice that have become our trademark – and thereby offer the best lots from all categories and achieve the highest hammer prices for the benefit of our customers.

Tradition and innovation go hand in hand. At Bruun Rasmussen, we are one of Europe's most modern and digital auction houses, and it is only natural for us to adapt to changes in the market. Innovation is part of our DNA, while we are also deeply rooted in our history. The foundation of the company rests on our two types of auctions – Online Auction and Live Auction. Every week we put more than a thousand lots up for auction at bruun-rasmussen.dk, and several times a year we present exclusive lots live in our saleroom. We are proud to sell art and design in virtually every category and price range to and for people all over the world who are driven by the same passion as we are.

We want to be a living centre of culture, and since the autumn of 2023, we have been located in Lyngby north of Copenhagen in a new, modern domicile. Here you can not only explore among all the art objects on display and bid on the exciting auctions, you can also meet our specialists, get an estimate on your own items, consign them for auction, listen to exciting lectures and participate in cultural events. We also have branches in Aarhus and Glostrup and regularly go on valuation trips around Denmark and abroad. Our goal is to always be available and for everyone to have a good experience in our auction house.

Welcome to Bruun Rasmussen – we can help you make a good purchase or achieve a great sale!

Bruun Rasmussen – Part of the Bonhams Network
Nørgaardsvej 3
2800 Kongens Lyngby
Denmark
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