Sotheby's to offer painting by Vilhelm Hammershoi for sale

KOLKATA: Sotheby's will offer a painting by Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershoi that is rare if not unique in the artist's oeuvre, in the Company's sale of 19th Century European Paintings on 22 May 2014. Sun over the Sea, estimated at £100,000-150,000, is one of the only known marines by the artist, and in which he paints directly into the sun.

The auction will feature a second painting by Hammershoi with a maritime subject, The Old Warehouse in Christianshavn (estimate: £80,000-120,000). Both pictures, from Danish private collections, come to the auction market for the first time.

Claude Piening, senior director, Sotheby's 19th Century European Paintings Department, said in an email statement: "Hammershoi's timeless and quietly understated images continue to cast their spell on today's collectors. For our upcoming sale in May, we are fortunate to be offering two exterior views painted in Copenhagen. Sun over the Sea is an especially exciting rediscovery, arguably the only painting by Hammershoi to depict not only the open ocean, but the glowing orb of the sun, the source of light in so many of his more familiar interior scenes."

Nina Wedell-Wedellsborg, head of Sotheby's Denmark, continued in the same statement: "Sun over the Sea and The Old Warehouse belong to the significant body of outdoor views by Hammershoi, which have been generating strong interest in our sales over recent years. Both are exciting discoveries: the former is unique in the artist's oeuvre, the latter formerly in the collection of Hammershoi's patron Alfred Bramsen, a smaller version of the iconic painting in the Hamburger Kunsthalle."