1939
See also : Cars II Cars 1930s Cars 1937-39 Mercedes-Benz Italian cars Kandinsky Chagall Picasso in the 1930s Central and South Americas Switzerland < 1940 Time pieces Patek Philippe Development of Patek Philippe
1939 The Smiling Woman
2017 SOLD for $ 45M including premium
While Dora Maar was doing the photographic survey of his creation of Guernica, Picasso observed her feminine hypersensitivity and conceptualized his new muse as a prophetess of the political catastrophes.
This artist's vision was incomplete and even unfair for this activist woman who loved surrealism and eccentric attires. It certainly did not help to preserve her fragile mental balance. They will terminate their affair in 1943.
Another catastrophe occured. In September 1939 Picasso in fear of the aerial attacks left Paris and established his small circle at Royan in two different places so that his two rival mistresses shall not meet.
In the cyclothymia of this anxious artist the date of 25 October 1939 was a short period of lull. Pablo was celebrating his birthday in Royan with Dora. He painted Femme assise, robe bleue.
This oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm was sold for £ 18M including premium by Christie's on June 21, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 4M. The appeal to the international market from Dora's portraits is growing. It is now estimated $ 35M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 12 A.
On that day Pablo's mistress is no longer an allegory but a young woman loved by him. The colors are bright and cheerful and the hat is exuberant. The face in multiple perspectives according to the taste of the artist at that time reinforces the expression of a wide and friendly smile close to laughter.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
This artist's vision was incomplete and even unfair for this activist woman who loved surrealism and eccentric attires. It certainly did not help to preserve her fragile mental balance. They will terminate their affair in 1943.
Another catastrophe occured. In September 1939 Picasso in fear of the aerial attacks left Paris and established his small circle at Royan in two different places so that his two rival mistresses shall not meet.
In the cyclothymia of this anxious artist the date of 25 October 1939 was a short period of lull. Pablo was celebrating his birthday in Royan with Dora. He painted Femme assise, robe bleue.
This oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm was sold for £ 18M including premium by Christie's on June 21, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 4M. The appeal to the international market from Dora's portraits is growing. It is now estimated $ 35M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15, lot 12 A.
On that day Pablo's mistress is no longer an allegory but a young woman loved by him. The colors are bright and cheerful and the hat is exuberant. The face in multiple perspectives according to the taste of the artist at that time reinforces the expression of a wide and friendly smile close to laughter.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1939 Le Rond Rouge by Kandinsky
2018 SOLD for $ 20.6M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
From 1922 to 1933, Wassily Kandinsky sought with his colleagues from the Bauhaus the basic elements of the pictorial creation. Nothing remains of his figurative inspiration, replaced by a balanced arrangement of geometric shapes and colors. The musical influence, triggered in 1911 by Schönberg, will never leave him.
His exile in Paris frees him from teaching, and consequently from his subjugation to geometry. The forms observed in embryology and microbiology generate an unprecedented variant of his pantheism. He admires these flexible organisms invented by nature, which move under the microscope in a harmony that had escaped human eyes.
On November 12, 2018, Sotheby's sold at lot 4 for $ 20.6M including premium Le Rond Rouge, oil on canvas 89 x 116 cm painted in 1939. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
On the top right, the picture is dominated by an intense red orb in a thick black circle. This figure is the vital source, which nourishes the rest of the surface through thick black filaments. On the bottom left, a ground in deep perspective is littered with geometric elements. An influence of Kandinsky's dodecaphonism on Mondrian's boogie-woogie deserves to be analyzed.
His exile in Paris frees him from teaching, and consequently from his subjugation to geometry. The forms observed in embryology and microbiology generate an unprecedented variant of his pantheism. He admires these flexible organisms invented by nature, which move under the microscope in a harmony that had escaped human eyes.
On November 12, 2018, Sotheby's sold at lot 4 for $ 20.6M including premium Le Rond Rouge, oil on canvas 89 x 116 cm painted in 1939. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
On the top right, the picture is dominated by an intense red orb in a thick black circle. This figure is the vital source, which nourishes the rest of the surface through thick black filaments. On the bottom left, a ground in deep perspective is littered with geometric elements. An influence of Kandinsky's dodecaphonism on Mondrian's boogie-woogie deserves to be analyzed.
1939 A Spider by Alfa Romeo and Touring
2016 SOLD for $ 19.8M including premium
Under the direct control of the Italian government, Alfa Romeo improves the performance of its luxury and sports cars throughout the 1930s. The 6-cylinder version (6C) grows in several stages from 1750 to 2500 cc. Aimed at the high end, the 8-cylinder version (8C), created in 1931 with 2300 cc, is fitted with 2900 cc from 1935. The 8C 2900B is available in two lengths from 1937 : Corto and Lungo.
Alfa Romeo has special relationships with two body shops that offer dissimilar products. A 8C 2900B assembled by Pinin Farina in cabriolet was sold for $ 4,07M including premium by Christie's on August 28, 1999, a great price for that time.
In Milan, Carrozzeria Touring patented in 1936 theSuperleggera technology. Alfa Romeo actively supports this development that must enable its Lungo variant to compete advantageously with the too massive Mercedes-Benz 540K. The war interrupted this activity. Note however that in 1939 Alfa Romeo is already offering the features that will make the success of sports cars after the war: the spider from as early as 1931, and the berlinetta.
On August 20 in Monterey, RM Sotheby's sells the culmination of this evolution : an 8C 2900B Lungo bodied in spider superleggera by Touring. It is estimated $ 20M, lot 234.
The authenticity of this car is the result of patient and painstaking work by the best specialists of the brand. The oldest traces of its eventful existence date back to the early 1950s in South America. As often, this car had been dismantled by owners seeking the best combination for their cars in competition.
In 1994, convinced that chassis 412041 and body 2027 may come from the same original car, the collector Sam Mann, passionate about automotive engineering, acquires both. The reassembly proves him right : the positions of the bolt holes are consistent, resulting from the work done by Touring workmen around 1939. Despite the extreme rarity of this model, Mann was able to complete this work by assembling an engine and a fuel pump from the original 8C 2900B series.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's TV and another videoshared by RM introducing five vehicles from the Mann collection.
Alfa Romeo has special relationships with two body shops that offer dissimilar products. A 8C 2900B assembled by Pinin Farina in cabriolet was sold for $ 4,07M including premium by Christie's on August 28, 1999, a great price for that time.
In Milan, Carrozzeria Touring patented in 1936 theSuperleggera technology. Alfa Romeo actively supports this development that must enable its Lungo variant to compete advantageously with the too massive Mercedes-Benz 540K. The war interrupted this activity. Note however that in 1939 Alfa Romeo is already offering the features that will make the success of sports cars after the war: the spider from as early as 1931, and the berlinetta.
On August 20 in Monterey, RM Sotheby's sells the culmination of this evolution : an 8C 2900B Lungo bodied in spider superleggera by Touring. It is estimated $ 20M, lot 234.
The authenticity of this car is the result of patient and painstaking work by the best specialists of the brand. The oldest traces of its eventful existence date back to the early 1950s in South America. As often, this car had been dismantled by owners seeking the best combination for their cars in competition.
In 1994, convinced that chassis 412041 and body 2027 may come from the same original car, the collector Sam Mann, passionate about automotive engineering, acquires both. The reassembly proves him right : the positions of the bolt holes are consistent, resulting from the work done by Touring workmen around 1939. Despite the extreme rarity of this model, Mann was able to complete this work by assembling an engine and a fuel pump from the original 8C 2900B series.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's TV and another videoshared by RM introducing five vehicles from the Mann collection.
1939 Thérèse is growing up
2019 SOLD for $ 19M including premium
The Klossowski brothers grew up in an intellectual atmosphere. Their father was an art historian. Their mother, a pupil of Pierre Bonnard, became the lover of Rainer Maria Rilke after the first world war. Gide encourages the two boys. Pierre will seek to reconcile surrealism and pornography. Balthasar will become Balthus.
In 1935 the self-portrait of Balthus as king of cats inaugurates the weird universe of the artist. The young man appears normal except for too long legs to which a cat comes to rub. Balthus will always let the observer identify the meaning of his art. The cat came for a hug, or to rid its fur from its fleas, or to worship its self-proclaimed lord.
In the following year the artist observes the children of his neighbors. Thérèse is 11 years old and Hubert is two years older. The girl wears the gloomy expression of pre-adolescence, that phase during which the body is still unfinished. From 1936 to 1939 Balthus executes ten portraits of this young sitter.
Modern influence groups vigorously protested in 2017 against the eroticism of these images of children. They looked at the bare thighs and the skirt sometimes raised up to glimpse the underwear. The girl performs a writhing that suits her age. If we put on the index the portraits of Thérèse by Balthus we must join to them the ballerinas by Degas. The perversity lies essentially in the perception made by the observer who must be protected against himself. Balthus was right.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells Thérèse sur une banquette, oil on board 73 x 92 cm painted in 1939, lot 8Aestimated $ 12M.
At the age of 14 Thérèse is still a slender child. Carefree of her own attitude, she is slumped on the bench, one hand on the floor and the other hand raised to swing a string. She looks downward. Once is not customary, another work painted in the same year provides an additional information : a kitten jumps to catch the ball hanging from the string.
In 1935 the self-portrait of Balthus as king of cats inaugurates the weird universe of the artist. The young man appears normal except for too long legs to which a cat comes to rub. Balthus will always let the observer identify the meaning of his art. The cat came for a hug, or to rid its fur from its fleas, or to worship its self-proclaimed lord.
In the following year the artist observes the children of his neighbors. Thérèse is 11 years old and Hubert is two years older. The girl wears the gloomy expression of pre-adolescence, that phase during which the body is still unfinished. From 1936 to 1939 Balthus executes ten portraits of this young sitter.
Modern influence groups vigorously protested in 2017 against the eroticism of these images of children. They looked at the bare thighs and the skirt sometimes raised up to glimpse the underwear. The girl performs a writhing that suits her age. If we put on the index the portraits of Thérèse by Balthus we must join to them the ballerinas by Degas. The perversity lies essentially in the perception made by the observer who must be protected against himself. Balthus was right.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells Thérèse sur une banquette, oil on board 73 x 92 cm painted in 1939, lot 8Aestimated $ 12M.
At the age of 14 Thérèse is still a slender child. Carefree of her own attitude, she is slumped on the bench, one hand on the floor and the other hand raised to swing a string. She looks downward. Once is not customary, another work painted in the same year provides an additional information : a kitten jumps to catch the ball hanging from the string.
1939 Three Candles against the War
2017 SOLD for $ 14.6M including premium
At the end of the 1930s the Nazis made themselves increasingly involved in French affairs. As early as 1937 they criticized the poetic art of the Belorussian immigrant Marc Chagall with his continuous evocations of Judaism and his characters floating in the air.
In 1939 Marc and Bella are worried but do not yet perceive that the Nazis will manage to physically eradicate the French Jews. They remember Vitebsk where they married in 1916 and express their roots with their skills : Bella by her stories in Yiddish and Mark by his painting.
On May 15 in New York, Christie's sells Les Trois Cierges, oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm painted in 1939, lot 6 A estimated $ 8M.
As ever with Marc's surrealist style, the scenes are juxtaposed in various scales according to their importance conceived by the artist.
On the right side the levitating newlyweds are back to the happy time of Vitebsk. On the left, three tall candles are lit, marking the hope of the small family circle formed by Marc, Bella and their daughter Ida : the torments of the moment will be annihilated by melting in the wax. Secondary animation on the smaller scale includes flying angels, musicians and a view of the village.
In 1940 the persecution reached the whole French territory. Marc and Bella left France hurriedly. A few months later Ida and her husband joined them in the United States : in their crossing of the Atlantic that was made extremely dangerous by the war, they succeeded in transporting a large crate of artworks painted by Marc, including Les Trois Cierges which were thus saved from an inescapable destruction.
In the following year Les Trois Cierges is a major piece in the exhibition devoted to Chagall's art by Pierre Matisse in New York, one of the most important initiatives within this transitional period in which the Americans discover the European and Russian modern art.
In 1939 Marc and Bella are worried but do not yet perceive that the Nazis will manage to physically eradicate the French Jews. They remember Vitebsk where they married in 1916 and express their roots with their skills : Bella by her stories in Yiddish and Mark by his painting.
On May 15 in New York, Christie's sells Les Trois Cierges, oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm painted in 1939, lot 6 A estimated $ 8M.
As ever with Marc's surrealist style, the scenes are juxtaposed in various scales according to their importance conceived by the artist.
On the right side the levitating newlyweds are back to the happy time of Vitebsk. On the left, three tall candles are lit, marking the hope of the small family circle formed by Marc, Bella and their daughter Ida : the torments of the moment will be annihilated by melting in the wax. Secondary animation on the smaller scale includes flying angels, musicians and a view of the village.
In 1940 the persecution reached the whole French territory. Marc and Bella left France hurriedly. A few months later Ida and her husband joined them in the United States : in their crossing of the Atlantic that was made extremely dangerous by the war, they succeeded in transporting a large crate of artworks painted by Marc, including Les Trois Cierges which were thus saved from an inescapable destruction.
In the following year Les Trois Cierges is a major piece in the exhibition devoted to Chagall's art by Pierre Matisse in New York, one of the most important initiatives within this transitional period in which the Americans discover the European and Russian modern art.
1939 Bridle Path by Hopper
2012 SOLD for $ 10.4M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
Edward Hopper was a misanthropist who expressed in his art what words could not say. He was however a keen observer of the society of his time, whose developments he did not necessarily approve : he preferred the artificial world of the theater. He was looking for inspiration around him, in New York City and on the road to his summer residence at Cape Cod.
His characters are frozen in their psychological solitude, even when they are in a group. Their attitude is bored, often without any movement. Bridle Path, oil on canvas 59 x 107 cm painted in 1939, is an exception, and also a very rare example of surrealism at that time in his work.
The scene shows three riders in full action, on a wide path that leads straight to a dark tunnel. The place is recognizable : we see in the background the Dakota building, recognizable by its incongruous neo-Renaissance architecture on the edge of Central Park.
The artist plays on a confusion between bridle (the rein) and bridal (relating to the bride). The three riders are not on the same level. The man and one of the women are almost in the entrance to the tunnel, somehow a hole to hell. The man, most certainly a self-portrait, reacts to the imminent danger by pulling on the bridle, which rears up his beautiful white horse.
For once, Jo Hopper's notebooks do not help to decode although she indicates her enthusiasm for this work. The theme of the danger of marriage was perhaps still sensitive in this atypical couple. The gallop of the two women towards hell and the ultimate attempt of the man to escape it are undoubtedly also a reference to the anxiogenic international events of April 1939.
Bridle Path was sold for $ 10.4M including premium by Sotheby's on May 17, 2012 over a lower estimate of $ 5M, lot 10.
His characters are frozen in their psychological solitude, even when they are in a group. Their attitude is bored, often without any movement. Bridle Path, oil on canvas 59 x 107 cm painted in 1939, is an exception, and also a very rare example of surrealism at that time in his work.
The scene shows three riders in full action, on a wide path that leads straight to a dark tunnel. The place is recognizable : we see in the background the Dakota building, recognizable by its incongruous neo-Renaissance architecture on the edge of Central Park.
The artist plays on a confusion between bridle (the rein) and bridal (relating to the bride). The three riders are not on the same level. The man and one of the women are almost in the entrance to the tunnel, somehow a hole to hell. The man, most certainly a self-portrait, reacts to the imminent danger by pulling on the bridle, which rears up his beautiful white horse.
For once, Jo Hopper's notebooks do not help to decode although she indicates her enthusiasm for this work. The theme of the danger of marriage was perhaps still sensitive in this atypical couple. The gallop of the two women towards hell and the ultimate attempt of the man to escape it are undoubtedly also a reference to the anxiogenic international events of April 1939.
Bridle Path was sold for $ 10.4M including premium by Sotheby's on May 17, 2012 over a lower estimate of $ 5M, lot 10.
1939 The Doubling of Frida Kahlo
2016 SOLD for $ 8M including premium
The life of Frida Kahlo was always difficult but 1939 was particularly painful and distressing both physically and psychologically. She is 32 years old. Nothing goes right with her husband and idol Diego Rivera who had been accepting her homosexual desires but is jealous of her men.
Frida needs some comforting and eventually considers that she can only find it within herself in a pathetic doubling of her personality. Las Dos Fridas is a double self portrait by the artist commented by herself as a symbol of her loneliness, broken by the fact that the two women are holding their hands.
This artwork helps to understand Dos desnudos en el bosque, oil on metal 25 x 30 cm painted in the same year, estimated $ 8M byChristie's in New York on May 12, lot 21C.
A woman with dark skin is lovingly caressing a lying white woman. They are nude in a calm attitude but in the surrounding of a torrid vegetation loaded with sexual symbols. The sniper monkey plays the role of the male who will not be rejected by this Sapphic couple.
The seated woman has one leg that hangs into a seismic ravine. She fertilizes the soil through her long scarf and an almost imperceptible bleeding. Rooting is a recurring theme of the artist in her search for the mystery of human life and her need for a shelter against all the threats of the world.
The faces are not identifiable and Dos desnudos can be a double self portrait. If this is not the case, one of the women is the first owner of this painting, the Mexican film star Dolores del Río who was probably one of the targets of Frida's bisexuality.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's.
Frida needs some comforting and eventually considers that she can only find it within herself in a pathetic doubling of her personality. Las Dos Fridas is a double self portrait by the artist commented by herself as a symbol of her loneliness, broken by the fact that the two women are holding their hands.
This artwork helps to understand Dos desnudos en el bosque, oil on metal 25 x 30 cm painted in the same year, estimated $ 8M byChristie's in New York on May 12, lot 21C.
A woman with dark skin is lovingly caressing a lying white woman. They are nude in a calm attitude but in the surrounding of a torrid vegetation loaded with sexual symbols. The sniper monkey plays the role of the male who will not be rejected by this Sapphic couple.
The seated woman has one leg that hangs into a seismic ravine. She fertilizes the soil through her long scarf and an almost imperceptible bleeding. Rooting is a recurring theme of the artist in her search for the mystery of human life and her need for a shelter against all the threats of the world.
The faces are not identifiable and Dos desnudos can be a double self portrait. If this is not the case, one of the women is the first owner of this painting, the Mexican film star Dolores del Río who was probably one of the targets of Frida's bisexuality.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's.
1939 The Last Spezial Roadster
2013 SOLD 7.5 M$ including premium
2017 SOLD for $ 6.6M including premium
PRE 2017 SALE DISCUSSION
The luxury car began to adopt a more modern look in 1939, with Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz. The war interrupted this great trend.
On January 20 in Phoenix, RM Sotheby's sells a Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Roadster. Completed in August 1939 on a special order and delivered to its owner in Berlin, this car appears as the ultimate car of the most prestigious pre-war lineage.
It is equipped with the latest developments offered by Mercedes-Benz including the new five-speed transmission. Its one-off bodywork made in Sindelfingen marks the culmination of the aesthetic research aiming to bring to this massive two-seater roadster the same elegance as a sports car.
After the war it was used for a few years in East Berlin by Soviet diplomats and then transferred to Russia. It had become old-fashioned and was likely to be abandoned when an amateur managed to smuggle it into Sweden in 1967. After these adventures, its condition remains remarkably authentic with its original body and equipment including chassis and engine in matching numbers.
This car has already been discussed twice in this column.
On August 20, 2011, RM Auctions had gathered five Mercedes-Benz demonstrating masterfully the evolution of the high-end of this brand from 1935 to 1939. In the shadow of the dazzling 540K Spezial Roadster of 1937 from the Mann collection that fetched $ 9.7M including premium, the 1939 car was sold for $ 4.6M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 3.5M. The pre sale release shared by Sports Car Digest illustrates these five wonders.
Its specific importance was further enhanced later. Sold for $ 7.5M including premium by RM Auctions on August 16, 2013, it then began a prestigious career in the concours d'elegance. It is estimated $ 7.4M in the next sale, lot 258.
The luxury car began to adopt a more modern look in 1939, with Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz. The war interrupted this great trend.
On January 20 in Phoenix, RM Sotheby's sells a Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Roadster. Completed in August 1939 on a special order and delivered to its owner in Berlin, this car appears as the ultimate car of the most prestigious pre-war lineage.
It is equipped with the latest developments offered by Mercedes-Benz including the new five-speed transmission. Its one-off bodywork made in Sindelfingen marks the culmination of the aesthetic research aiming to bring to this massive two-seater roadster the same elegance as a sports car.
After the war it was used for a few years in East Berlin by Soviet diplomats and then transferred to Russia. It had become old-fashioned and was likely to be abandoned when an amateur managed to smuggle it into Sweden in 1967. After these adventures, its condition remains remarkably authentic with its original body and equipment including chassis and engine in matching numbers.
This car has already been discussed twice in this column.
On August 20, 2011, RM Auctions had gathered five Mercedes-Benz demonstrating masterfully the evolution of the high-end of this brand from 1935 to 1939. In the shadow of the dazzling 540K Spezial Roadster of 1937 from the Mann collection that fetched $ 9.7M including premium, the 1939 car was sold for $ 4.6M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 3.5M. The pre sale release shared by Sports Car Digest illustrates these five wonders.
Its specific importance was further enhanced later. Sold for $ 7.5M including premium by RM Auctions on August 16, 2013, it then began a prestigious career in the concours d'elegance. It is estimated $ 7.4M in the next sale, lot 258.
1939 Platinum Patek Philippe 1415 HU World Time
2002 SOLD for CHF 6.6M (worth at that time US $ 4M) including premium by Antiquorum
narrated in 2020 before the sale of another watch by Phillips (see below)
In the mid-1930s Louis Cottier invented a new horological complication for wristwatches, the Heures Universelles. The watch is equipped with two rotating rings. The user sets his position to the local time displayed by the central hands. The time in all cities of the world is a direct reading of the junction between the two rings.
Patek Philippe, which had delivered their Supercomplication watch to Graves in 1933, are eager for any invention. Their first integration tests of the Heures Universelles (HU) are carried out in 1937 with the support of the inventor.
These early units are experimental. They re-use old movements, perhaps chosen from their availability in the warehouse. The 96 HU is known in two units and the 515 HU in three units. Both 96 HU Calatrava and at least one of the rectangular 515 HU are assembled with cases in the same range of serial numbers. Both types refer to 28 cities.
The 96 HU has long been considered as a unique piece. It was sold for CHF 410K including premium by Christie's on November 14, 2011. The second watch surfaced in 2011. Unrestored, it was sold as is by Sotheby's on December 6, 2011 for $ 480K including premium and for CHF 390K including premium by Phillips on June 27, 2020.
The rotation of the city ring was not compatible with the 515 but Patek Philippe did not give up. The 542 HU, assembled in five units, is the last model of prototypes before the marketing begins in 1939 under the references 1416 HU and 1415 HU. A 1415 HU was sold by Antiquorum on April 13, 2002 for CHF 6.6M including premium, worth $ 4M on that date. It is the only known example in platinum for that reference.
Patek Philippe, which had delivered their Supercomplication watch to Graves in 1933, are eager for any invention. Their first integration tests of the Heures Universelles (HU) are carried out in 1937 with the support of the inventor.
These early units are experimental. They re-use old movements, perhaps chosen from their availability in the warehouse. The 96 HU is known in two units and the 515 HU in three units. Both 96 HU Calatrava and at least one of the rectangular 515 HU are assembled with cases in the same range of serial numbers. Both types refer to 28 cities.
The 96 HU has long been considered as a unique piece. It was sold for CHF 410K including premium by Christie's on November 14, 2011. The second watch surfaced in 2011. Unrestored, it was sold as is by Sotheby's on December 6, 2011 for $ 480K including premium and for CHF 390K including premium by Phillips on June 27, 2020.
The rotation of the city ring was not compatible with the 515 but Patek Philippe did not give up. The 542 HU, assembled in five units, is the last model of prototypes before the marketing begins in 1939 under the references 1416 HU and 1415 HU. A 1415 HU was sold by Antiquorum on April 13, 2002 for CHF 6.6M including premium, worth $ 4M on that date. It is the only known example in platinum for that reference.
1939 The Silver Arrows
2012 SOLD 5.2 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
It was ambitious to compete with Mercedes-Benz high-end in the late 1930s. This is however what was tried by another German brand, Horch, which was part of the Auto Union co-operation. The models of these two companies have remained conjointly in the memory of the enthusiasts of automobile beauties through the nickname "Silver Arrows".
The Horch 853, designed in 1938, is much rarer than the Mercedes 540K. Aesthetically, the Special Roadster variants of these two models are very similar. Horch, which did not have the industrial capability of Mercedes, banked on the extreme minuteness of the details. The 853 was in its time one of the most expensive cars in the world.
Besides the two prototypes that preceded it, the Horch 853 Special Roadster "second series" was produced in five units.
The first did not please Göring and was dismantled. One of them is in a state museum, and the latest of the series is not located.
The car for sale by RM Auctions in Monterey on August 17 is exceptional. It is estimated $ 6M, and photographed in the fourteenth position on the page devoted by Sports Car Digest to many wonders of this auction.
This car made in 1939 was extensively restored by RM Auto Restoration with an extreme care to use originalequipment and components. This operation which lasted two years has resulted inone of the most coveted awards: it was judged Best of Show of the 2004 Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach.
The other unit has already been discussed in this group. It had also been restored, but by a less skilled team. It was sold £ 1.13 million including premium by RM Auctions on October 29, 2008, in a dark period when economic conditions were unfavorable to auction.
POST SALE COMMENT
The lower estimate has not been reached, but it was ambitious. Sold $ 4.7 million before fees, 5.2 million including premium, this unit marks however the great come back of Horch in the list of the best car brands of the 1930s.
It was ambitious to compete with Mercedes-Benz high-end in the late 1930s. This is however what was tried by another German brand, Horch, which was part of the Auto Union co-operation. The models of these two companies have remained conjointly in the memory of the enthusiasts of automobile beauties through the nickname "Silver Arrows".
The Horch 853, designed in 1938, is much rarer than the Mercedes 540K. Aesthetically, the Special Roadster variants of these two models are very similar. Horch, which did not have the industrial capability of Mercedes, banked on the extreme minuteness of the details. The 853 was in its time one of the most expensive cars in the world.
Besides the two prototypes that preceded it, the Horch 853 Special Roadster "second series" was produced in five units.
The first did not please Göring and was dismantled. One of them is in a state museum, and the latest of the series is not located.
The car for sale by RM Auctions in Monterey on August 17 is exceptional. It is estimated $ 6M, and photographed in the fourteenth position on the page devoted by Sports Car Digest to many wonders of this auction.
This car made in 1939 was extensively restored by RM Auto Restoration with an extreme care to use originalequipment and components. This operation which lasted two years has resulted inone of the most coveted awards: it was judged Best of Show of the 2004 Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach.
The other unit has already been discussed in this group. It had also been restored, but by a less skilled team. It was sold £ 1.13 million including premium by RM Auctions on October 29, 2008, in a dark period when economic conditions were unfavorable to auction.
POST SALE COMMENT
The lower estimate has not been reached, but it was ambitious. Sold $ 4.7 million before fees, 5.2 million including premium, this unit marks however the great come back of Horch in the list of the best car brands of the 1930s.
