Dorotheum Vienna May 2025 Auctions: Record Modern Art Sale at €7.7 Million

Dorotheum's May 2025 auctions in Vienna achieved a record total of €7.7 million for the modern art session on May 20, the highest ever for that segment at the auction house. The two-day sale (May 20–21) featured modern and contemporary works, with strong demand for established 20th-century avant-garde names. Austrian artists dominated the modern session: Carl Moll's 'Garten in Döbling' (1908) sold for €536,750 (five times the low estimate), Egon Schiele's 'Female nude leaning on her arm' (1912) reached €565,000, and Alfons Walde's 'Rast' (1930) achieved €494,000. Gustav Klimt drawings sold in the €40,000–110,000 range. Italian modernists performed well: Giorgio de Chirico's 'Piazza d'Italia' (1954) fetched €520,000, Gino Severini's 'Tango Argentino' (1913) sold for €130,000. The contemporary session on May 21 saw Maria Lassnig's 'Selbstportrait mit Engel o Kleiner Harlekin' (1961) sell for €481,000, Martha Jungwirth's untitled work from 'der affe in mir' (1990) for €130,000, and Mikuláš Medek's 'Mr. Enterprise' (1968) for €520,000. Fernando Botero's 'Woman on a Horse' (1998) reached €468,000. Italian contemporary artists also fared well: Piero Dorazio and Carla Accardi works exceeded €200,000, Emilio Vedova's 'Non Dove' (1987) sold for €211,875, and Tancredi's 'Senza Titolo' (1957) for €208,000. The results confirm a trend toward safe, historicized names with accessible estimates.