V​aluable Drawings from Vilhelm Hammershøi’s Childhood Sold at Auction

On Tuesday afternoon, Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Art sold five drawings and paintings made by a very young Vilhelm Hammershøi. So, save your children's drawings; they might end up being worth quite a lot, especially if one of your offspring turns out to become a world-renowned artist.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bruun Rasmussen opened the doors to this year's final Live Auction in Copenhagen and sold five drawings and paintings made by Vilhelm Hammershøi between the age of nine and 18. They sold for a total price of DKK 672,000 (€117,347 including buyer’s premium).

In a drawing of geometric models, a mere 15-year-old Hammershøi shows us that he has already found his favourite colour, grey. He also works with the shadows that would later make him world-famous and provide him with an auction record in Denmark with the sale of the painting "Interior, Strandgade 30" for a staggering DKK 31.5 million (€5.5 million including buyer’s premium). This sale took place a year ago at Bruun Rasmussen.

Julie Arendse Voss is Head of Bruun Rasmussen's Department of Fine Art. She is both proud and pleased with the result of the auction: “Just by mentioning the name Hammershøi, you have people’s attention. This was once again confirmed when a collection of early works was sold for DKK 672,000 (€117,347 including buyer’s premium). Although he is young, the drawings reflect his immense talent at an early age, and you can already see in these works that he mastered light and shadow and the grey colours, which would later make him world-famous,” she says.

A Supportive Mother

Frederikke Hammershøi was Vilhelm Hammershøi's mother. She was quick to recognize the high level of talent in her son’s artwork and had an unwavering faith in his artistic abilities.

From early on during Vilhelm’s childhood and throughout her own life, she collected virtually all material by and about her son in the form of childhood drawings, newspaper clippings and the accounts for his drawing lessons in several scrapbooks.

The earliest drawing at the auction was drawn by a mere nine-year-old Vilhelm Hammershøi. On the back, Vilhelm Hammershøi's mother has written at the top in lead: “Vilhelm chasing a parrot, Frederiksberg Allé. Summer 1873. Drawn by Vilhelm 1873.” And below with pencil: “Vilhelm rescues a parrot, which has been captured because of a chain around its leg that has wound itself around a branch on a tree on Frederiksberg Allé. Many spectators have gathered.” This drawing ended up being the least expensive of the five drawings from Hammershøi’s childhood and youth at a price of DKK 22,000 (€3,840 including buyer’s premium).

The drawings come from a private collection and have not previously been for sale.

Information: 

• Age nine: "Vilhelm Rescues a Parrot". Estimate: DKK 15,000-25,000. Hammer price: DKK 22,000 (€3,840 including buyer’s premium).
• Age 10: "Still life with apples and pears in a kylix". Estimate: DKK 30,000-40,000. Hammer price: DKK 130,000 (€22,700 including buyer’s premium).
• Age 15: "Still Life with Geometric Models". Estimate: DKK 60,000-80,000. Hammer price: DKK 190,000 (€33,179 including buyer’s premium).
• Age 16: "A Landscape with a Plowed Field". Estimate: DKK 40,000-60,000. Hammer price: DKK 100,000 (€17,500 including buyer’s premium).
• Age 18: "From Ermelunden". Estimate: DKK 100,000-150,000 Hammer price: DKK 230,000 (€40,163 including buyer’s premium).
• In total, the childhood drawings were sold for DKK 672,000 (€117,347 including buyer’s premium).