A Swedish Collection of International Art Will Be Sold to Aid Young Musicians

Hallands Auktionsverk has been commissioned to sell a rather unique collection of 20th-century art. The collection is the product of the lifetime’s work of legendary music professor Gottfrid Boon (1886-1981), who acquired great works of art including pieces by Henri Matisse, Hélène Schjerfbeck and Pablo Picasso – among many others.

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“Hallands Auktionsverk is proud to have been commissioned to sell this exceptional collection of masterpieces by both Swedish and international artists”, says Martin Laurell, CEO and owner of Hallands Auktionsverk AB.

In addition to newly discovered works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Helene Schjerfbeck, the sale features art by Joan Miró, Georges Braque and Marc Chagall. Swedish art will also be offered, with works by Carl Kylberg, Karl Isaksson and Sigrid Hjertén present in the auction. 

Several of the works have never been seen on the second-hand market. Of particular notice is the newly discovered ink drawing Femme Se Coiffant, painted by Pablo Picasso and bought by Gottfrid Boon at Galerie Louise Leiris in Paris in 1952.

“It is with mixed feelings that we are selling the collection. My parents were close friends with the owner’s family and I have known them basically my whole life”, said Martin Laurell, CEO and owner of Hallands Auktionsverk AB. “The will stated that the sale should be run by Hallands Auktionsverk and that the profits from the sale should go to a foundation in the family's name for the benefit of young musicians”.

The Finnish-Swedish artist Helene Schjerfbeck's double-signed painting Girl with a Long Neck holds the highest estimate, placed at SEK 3 million. The painting has been exhibited at many museums, including the Prince Eugen's Waldemarsudde, Gothenburg's Art Museum, and the Kunstnernes House in Oslo.

“It is rare to see such a cohesive collection of works of this quality reach the Swedish auction market, and even more rare to see this happen in Halmstad. As we live in an increasingly digital world, it becomes possible to reach out to a global audience, even as a smaller auction house with fewer resources. This would have been practically impossible ten years ago”, commented Pontus Silfverstolpe, co-founder of the auction search engine Barnebys, which will list the lots globally.

The newly discovered drawing by Henri Matisse depicts the model Monique Bourgeois, who eventually became a nun in the Dominican Order, and later inspired the world-famous construction of the chapel in Vence, which 77-year-old Henri Matisse was commissioned to design and decorate with his art. The artist designed everything from floors to walls, lamps, leaded glass windows, and even the clothing of the priests.

Monique Bourgeois, often recognized in Matisse's work for her voluminous bracelets and prominent dresses, appears as a motif in several of Matisse's drawings, but only in four known paintings: Monique L'Idol, La Robe Verte, Les Oranges and Tabac Royal.

“In cataloguing the works we have had enormous help from Henri Matisse's great-grandson Georges Matisse, at Archives Matisse, but also from my old friend and colleague Marc Maurie, one of Sweden's most prominent art connoisseurs who, among other things, was the head of the art department at Bukowskis and Stockholms Auktionsverk”, added Martin Laurell, CEO and owner of Hallands Auktionsverk AB.

Johan Gottfrid Boon was born in the Slöinge parish in Halland. He was educated at the Royal Music Conservatory and worked as a piano teacher at the Royal Academy of Music. Several generations of famous Swedish musicians studied with Boon. In 1938 he was elected as member no. 621 of the Royal Academy of Music, and in 1960 he was awarded the Medal for the promotion of the musical arts. The following year, Gottfrid Boon received the Illis Quorum medal, awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science and society.

Gottfrid Boon's collection will be auctioned on 27 October at Hallands Auktionsverk. The collection's total value is estimated at approximately SEK 10-15 million.