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François Bocion painting fetches record at Swiss auction

Record-breaking Bocion sold at Basel auction for $270,250
The oil painting La chasse aux grèbes by Lausanne artist François Bocion (1828-1890) shows a scene on Lake Geneva. Keystone-SDA

The oil painting La chasse aux grèbes by Lausanne artist François Bocion (1828-1890) fetched a record CHF270,250 ($315,530) at an auction in Basel in early April, the highest price ever paid for one of his works.

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A private Swiss museum won the bidding, it was reported on Tuesday.

A smaller oil on wood painting by Bocion also achieved a good result. Estimated at between CHF8,000-12,000, it sold for CHF82,566, Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer said in a statement on Tuesday.

In all, over CHF5 million were raised after two days of auctions, the first devoted to Swiss and international art before 1900, and the second to a Swiss private collection.

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Hodler and Vallotton

The portrait of an unknown woman by Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) also fetched CHF190,538, and Félix Vallotton’s complete series of musical instruments, a highly sought-after suite of six woodcuts, was bought by a private collector for CHF63,513.

In another category, Virgin and Child by the German painter Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) was sold for CHF736,745, well above its initial estimated price.

Among French artists, Paysage de Cagnes by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) fetched CHF203,240 from a European buyer, while two views of Antibes by Paul Signac (1863-1935) were sold to a French buyer for CHF260,401.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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