Trio of International Artists Lead Big Night of Modern Art at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers

On Tuesday, Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers sold a record-breaking painting by Anton Rooskens for DKK 850,000 (€ 149,000 including buyer’s premium), an exceptional work by Pierre Soulages for DKK 5 million (€ 873,000 including buyer’s premium) as well as two paintings by Simon Hantaï for DKK 1,150,000 (€200,000 including buyer’s premium) and DKK 2,700,000 (€ 472,000 including buyer’s premium) respectively. The two works by Hantaï came from a private Danish collection and are probably the only works by the artist in the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the final Live Auction of the year, Bruun Rasmussen presented a cornucopia of French art connected to Denmark in various ways. The artworks spanned most of a century and included a painting by Soulages from 1951, two works by Hantaï from 1971 and 1980 as well as a sculpture by Laurens from 1940. The four French works of art have all been in private Danish collections until now. Another artist with strong Danish ties is Anton Rooskens. He was part of the art movement CoBrA, named after the founders’ hometowns of Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. His painting “Indiaanse Motieven” sold at a record-breaking DKK 850,000 (€ 149,000 including buyer’s premium) after a prolonged bidding war between online bidders, buyers in the room and several additional bidders on the phones.

"All these lots exemplify that an artwork's provenance and history are extremely important. They have all been in the same Danish collections for generations, and that is something the market rewards when top artists of international acclaim are sold decades later," says Niels Raben, Head of Modern Art at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers. 

Two Paintings by Simon Hantaï from the Collection of an Art Historian

It is the first time Bruun Rasmussen has sold art by Hantaï at auction, and the two paintings in question have not been on the market before. They come from art historian Hanne Finsen's collection, and they are probably the only two Hantaï paintings in Denmark. 

Today, art historian Hanne Finsen is widely recognised as one of the biggest names on the Danish cultural and museum scene and a leading authority on French Modernism. For a long time, Finsen worked on bringing Simon Hantaï’s art to a wider Scandinavian audience. However, this project was made difficult by, among other things, the artist’s many years of self-imposed isolation, but the sale of the two works at Tuesday’s auction here at Bruun Rasmussen have certainly helped bring attention to the artist and his artistic methods.

Additional French Temptations

Bruun Rasmussen could also present a painting by Pierre Soulages, who is both figuratively and literally “the grand old man” of French abstract painting. He turns 101 on December 24 and can celebrate his birthday knowing that “peinture 59 x 85 cm, septembre 1951” sold for DKK 5,000,000 (€ 873,000 including buyer’s premium).

The auction also included a preliminary study for a painting by Henri Le Sidaner. The painting belongs to the Musée Marmottan-Monet in Paris, and the study for the final work has a Danish provenance.

The auction also featured a sculpture by Henri Laurens, which the architect Jørn Utzon received directly from the artist in connection with a visit to France. The other French works of art included names such as Chu Teh-Chun, Emile Bernard, Henri Matisse, another Soulages (lithograph) and a work by Niki de Saint Phalle.