Jesper Bruun Rasmussen Turns 80
Auctioneer Jesper Bruun Rasmussen turns 80 on Friday 14 October 2022. He is known from the old and renowned auction house Bruun Rasmussen Art Auctioneers, where for a lifetime he has used his father's legendary auction hammer at the podium when selling art, modern design, jewellery, antiques and much more.
When Jesper Bruun Rasmussen surveys the auctions in the centre of Copenhagen, it is always done with a sparkle in his eye and often accompanied by a witty and warm remark as he interacts in earnest and with integrity with bidders from all over the world and colleagues in the saleroom. Jesper Bruun Rasmussen's long career began back in 1961, when at the age of 19 he was apprenticed to his father Arne Bruun Rasmussen, who founded the auction house in 1948 in the heart of Copenhagen. Here, Jesper started out with weighing silverware, but he worked his way up through the company, which grew in size from having ten employees at the outset to the 140 employees working in the auction house today. Last year Jesper Bruun Rasmussen was able to celebrate his 60th anniversary working in the auction house, which he became head of in 1985. In March 2022, he was happy to announce that Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers had been sold to the English auction house Bonhams, and that he had thus brought the hammer down on his biggest and most defining sale in the history of the auction house.
Jesper now continues his professional journey towards new global horizons as part of the Bonhams network, where he continues to share his great knowledge and presides over auctions in Copenhagen. With great dedication and attention to detail, he is still involved in the production of catalogues for the Live Auctions, while he also ensures that the well-attended viewings are beautifully and memorably decorated.
Both professionally and in his spare time, art from the 19th and 18th century in particular and not least the Danish Golden Age have always been close to Jesper Bruun Rasmussen's heart. While new art trends have unfolded over time, his enthusiasm for this particular period has persisted. He proved this last year, when he dedicated his anniversary auction to Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg and the Danish Golden Age.
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With his outgoing and sociable disposition, Jesper Bruun Rasmussen is used to dealing with many people – on the cultural scene, the social scene and in the auction world. Jesper is a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog and listed in Krak's Blue Book. He is today an iconic and nationally known figure, not least after he entered many of the country's living rooms and became a household name via the popular TV programme "Auktionshuset" chronicling daily life in the auction house. He now happily stops and continues the conversation about art with people who recognize him on the street. The international audience has also been able to experience Jesper Bruun Rasmussen on the big screen, when he starred in the Danish/French film "Oviri" (1986) about the life of the French artist Paul Gauguin, with Canadian Donald Sutherland in the lead role. It was Jesper's wife, Birthe Bruun-Rasmussen, who recognized Sutherland when they all happened to be on the same airplane. The actor was sitting together with the film's director Henning Carlsen, and Jesper thus ended up making his film debut – of course in the role of an auctioneer in an auction scene from Copenhagen. |
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Jesper is outgoing and curious by nature, which has taken him to all kinds of places. Already at the age of 16, he went to boarding school in Cambridge to learn languages, but at the same time used his stay in England to immerse himself in international art and history. The following year he went to Tours in France – also to learn the local language there and study art. Since then, he has travelled around the world and still finds great inspiration in crossing national borders. Privately, he is married to Birthe Bruun-Rasmussen, and together they have the children Frederik and Alexa, who have both been involved in the day-to-day business of running the auction house for a number of years, as well as three grandchildren. Jesper Bruun Rasmussen is a diligent museum visitor and in his spare time enjoys exploring exhibitions and collections in Denmark and abroad. His heart beats for art, and as he himself says, it's great when your work and hobby merge together. Today, you can experience Jesper as in the portrait he received 10 years ago from his colleagues for his 70th birthday, portrayed by the artist Mikael Melbye: A dedicated, passionate and entertaining auctioneer, who with the original auction hammer still shows his dedication for art. The painting now hangs at Bruun Rasmussen's head office in Nordhavn, where Jesper continues to enjoy his daily work in the service of art. |