Hodler fails to reach auction guide price
Published November 27th, 2007
A landscape by Ferdinand Hodler, which had been out of the public eye for more than half a century, failed to reach its guide price at auction on Tuesday.
The painting by one of Switzerland’s best-known artists attracted a top bid of 4.9 million Swiss francs ($4.46 million), below a guide price range of 5 to 7 million francs.
An official of Sotheby’s auction house in Zurich was stunned at the painting’s failure to attract higher bids.
“We have had year after year of records with Hodler paintings. This is really a surprise considering there is a major exhibition of his work in Paris at the moment,” the official said.
“It might mean that we are seeing a shift in the market, suggesting that modern art is falling from favor.”
