Iconic work by John Bauer sold for SEK 5.1 million at The Curated Classics Sale

The auction’s most notable highlight was John Bauer’s iconic watercolor “Ut i vida världen” (Out into the Wide World), which on Wednesday was hammered down at a final price of SEK 5.1 million after intense international bidding. The work is one of the artist’s most renowned and captivating motifs and has continued to inspire new generations since it was first published as a poster in the magazine Julbocken in 1907.

Bauer’s poignant work ”Sjökungens drottning” also achieved a strong final price of SEK 4 million, while “Prinsessa” sold for SEK 1 million.

– John Bauer’s art has a rare ability to be both deeply Swedish, emotionally moving, and internationally relevant. We are very pleased to see three of his remarkable watercolors meet with such strong engagement from collectors worldwide, says Victoria Svederberg, Head of the Art Department at Stockholms Auktionsverk.

The season’s perhaps most beautiful classical table also became the year’s most valuable classical piece of furniture to date, when the high-quality work from the first half of the 18th century sold for nearly SEK 2.7 million after lively Swedish and international bidding. The table is distinguished by its spectacular top from the era of Emperor Constantine the Great, executed in Roman micromosaic and alabastro fiorito, where ancient mosaic fragments have been assembled into a refined geometric composition. The sale means that Stockholms Auktionsverk has now sold both this year’s most high-priced classical piece of furniture and this year’s most costly 20th-century piece on the Swedish market. Earlier this spring, the auction house sold an exclusive table by Diego Giacometti for SEK 6.3 million – the highest price ever achieved for a modern piece of furniture in Sweden.

Among the most notable pieces in The Curated Classics Sale was also an exceptional Gustavian chest of drawers by master craftsman Johan Neijber. The chest has been passed down within the baronial Tersmeden family for generations and has never previously been offered on the market. The documented provenance, combined with the piece’s rare qualities, contributed to strong interest and a final price of SEK 1,075,000.