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Gerda Wegener (b. Hammelev 1886, d. Frederiksberg 1940)

Cocottes with hats (Lili and friend), c. 1920. Oil on canvas. 62×46 cm.

Exhibited: “Gerda Wegener”, Kvindemuseet, Århus, 1993, cat. no. 34. Exhibited: “Gerda Wegener”, ARKEN, Ishøj, 2015–17. cat. no. 60. Used as the cover of the exhibition catalogue and ill. on pp. 12–13. Exhibited: “Gerda Wegener & The Danish Girl”, Millesgården, Stockholm 2017. Exhibited: “DES/ORDEN MORAL. Arte y sexualidad en la Europa de entreguerras”, IVAM Institut Valencia d'Art Modern, 2020–21. Provenance: The collection of Anne Ammitzbøll, Hellerup, Denmark.

“In Gerda Wegener’s “To kokotter med hatte” from the 1920s, it is probably Lili in the blonde wig with flowers and feathers in her hat, looking at us with seductive bedroom eyes. In her hand, she is holding the symbol of the female sex, a rose, the fragrance of which permeates the image and probably also helps to attract the other woman’s attention. The two are standing close to each other and are brought even closer together by the composition’s close cropping of the motif” (Andrea Rygg Karberg: “Når kvinder maler kvinder” (When Women Paint Women), ARKEN’S exhibition catalogue, pp. 20–21).

Additional Remarks

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Auction

Modern paintings, sculptures & prints, 20 September 2023

Category
Estimate

150,000–200,000 DKK

Sold

Price realised

480,000 DKK