Beginning of the autumn auctions
Sex sells - both in Modern and Contemporary Art
Munich, 27 October 2009, (kk) - The beginning of this year’s autumn auctions was marked by a great start at Ketterer Kunst on 23/24 October 2009. The complete proceeds of some € 2,2 million* made for an average sales quota of almost 90 percent (reserve price vs. proceeds). "Investing in material assets, particularly art, is quite popular at present", said Robert Ketterer, auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst. He continued: "Customers also went for an alternative object if they did not obtain the desired lot. Our attractive pricing plays an important in this respect".
€ 177 000* Called at: €90 000
Nr. 630-647: Jörg Immendorff - Malerstamm...
€ 39 000* Called at: €18 000
Nr. 355: George Grosz – Erotische Szene
€ 39 000* Called at: €17 000
Nr. 676: Markus Lüpertz – Männer ohne Frauen - Parsifal
€ 33 000* Called at: €6 500
Nr. 357: George Grosz – Erotische Szene
€ 32 000* Called at: €7 000
Nr. 788: Emilio Vedova – Incimie Nr. 1
Our auction offers comprised the following thematic focal points:
1. Post War/Contemporary Art
2. Modern Art/Side lines of the German Avant-garde
3. Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century
on 1: Post War/Contemporary Art
An extremely charming band of monkeys led the race in this section and also had a major contribution to the overall proceeds. At first, the 18 bronze sculptures (estimate: each € 6 000-8 000) by Jörg Immendorff were called up individually and under preserve. Then, to give those interested in purchasing this entire small army of monkeys, they were called up again in one, this time each object attained an average result of almost € 10 000*. Now they will go on their way to Greece together, having achieved total proceeds of € 177 000*. A private collector from Hesse was left empty handed.
Other top lots were "Männer ohne Frauen - Parsifal" (no.676) by Markus Lüpertz (estimate: € 18 000, proceeds: € 39 000*) and Niki de Saint Phalle‘s "Les Baigneurs" (no. 741, estimate: € 20 000, proceeds: € 29 000*) as well as Herbert Brandls‘ work without title (no. 527, estimate: € 20 000, proceeds: € 27 000*).
Emilio Vedova‘s India ink work "Incimie Nr. 1" (no. 788) managed to climb to a result of € 32 000* with a call up price of € 7 000. In this case five written bids, bidders in the auction room and about a dozen mainly Italian customers on the phone were engaged in this intense bidding skirmish. The race was won by a collector from South Germany.
| lot no. | artist (technique) | title | estimate | proceeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 808 | Zao Wou-Ki (watercolor and India ink) | Ohne Titel | € 12 000 | € 22 000* |
| 718 | A. R. Penck (oil) | Ich in Lörsfeld | € 15 000 | € 21 000* |
| 544 | Abraham David Christian (bronze) | Der heilige Mensch | € 15 000 | € 21 000* |
| 604 | Richard Hamilton (silkscreen in colors) | Release | € 8 000 | € 21 000* |
| 588 | Raimund Girke (oil) | Ohne Titel | € 4 000 | € 19 000* |
on 2. Modern Art/Side lines of the German Avant-garde
Sex sells, this has been common sense since the early 1950s and is still valid today: The erotic-pornographic work by George Grosz has been omitted in silent censorship for a long time. Grosz took apart humans with an implacably biting stroke of the brush and that was not only in terms of politics, but also as far as sexuality was concerned. The interest in this subject is big and all seven works on offer were sold with high increases. Three of his explicit watercolors achieved top results in the section of Modern Art (see also box above), one of them even went for five times its reserve price. Despite the extreme perseverance of a German collector, a Greek collector was able to succeed in most bidding skirmishes.
Another highlight was set by Emil Nolde, his watercolor "Blauer Hausgiebel und Baum" (no. 428) went from an estimated € 14 000 to a result of almost € 26 000* to a collector from Lower Saxony. It was another German collector who honored Ernst Ludwig Kirchner‘s highly sought-after drawing "Zwei Mädchen bei der Toilette" (no. 383), called up at € 15 000, with the same amount.
With proceeds of some € 20 000* Karl Hofer‘s oil painting "Jüngling mit Buch" (no. 369) will go to Moscow. A phone bidder made the race against an opponent from East Germany.
The top lot in the special auction Side lines of the German Avant-garde, which took place for the fifth time, was Nele van de Velde‘s oil painting "Absinthtrinker" (no. 252), which had entered the race at an estimate of € 4 000-6 000. Both a large number of international written bids as well as a lively interest in the auction room and on the telephones made for this enormous increase. Having invested some € 24 000*, a collector from Belgium can now call this expressive composition his own.
Other satisfying increases were achieved by, among others, Walter Gramatté‘s watercolor "Mondaufgang auf Hiddensee" (no. 219, estimate: € 5 000, proceeds: € 10 000*) and Lilja Busse‘s oil painting "Im Konzert" (no. 208) estimate: € 1 500, proceeds: € 8 500*). In both cases the written bids of a Greek collector stood up to his mainly German competitors.
Other lots worthwhile mentioning:
| lot no. | artist (technique) | title | estimate | proceeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 440 | Pablo Picasso (ceramics) | Aztekenvase mit vier Gesichtern | € 14 000 | € 18 000* |
| 381 | W. Kandinsky (litho) | Kleine Welten IV | € 14 000 | € 17 000* |
| 370 | Karl Hofer (oil) | Muscheln II | € 8 000 | € 17 000* |
| 380 | Béla Kádár (tempera) | Abstrakte Komposition | € 6 000 | € 16 000* |
| 418 | Otto Mueller (chalc) | Stehender weiblicher Akt | € 8 000 | € 15 000* |
on 3: Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century
This year’s autumn auctions were opened by the section of Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century, led, as expected, by a typical oil painting by Alexander Koester. The "Vier schwimmende Enten im Teich" (no. 112) remain in Germany, as a collector from the South of Germany granted some € 27 000* and outpaced a Turkish collector.
Two works by Karl Blechen were also very successful, as they both managed a significant increase of their estimates of € 3 000. Whereas the etching "Kloster im Walde" (no. 70) went to a collector from Great Britain for some € 12 000*, an American art dealer acquired the lithograph "Burgruine" (no. 69) for proceeds of € 26 000*.
The same collector was also successful in the case of Hans Thoma‘s feather drawing "Schwarzwaldhöhe - Tal bei Sankt Blasien" (no. 149), which he snatched away from a persistent Austrian phone bidder for total proceeds of € 19 000*, thus he almost tripled the estimate of € 7 000.
Another excellent increase was accomplished by Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert‘s watercolor "Antilopen" (no. 118). In this case a man from Texas stood up to the strong international group of competitors with his € 14 000*. A German collector, who was also among this group, was able to acquire the following highly sought-after watercolor and pencil work "Kaffernbüffel" (no. 119, estimate: € 3 000) by the same artist for € 5 800*. Thus it will be interesting to see what will be going on on Decmeber 12 when Kuhnert's unusually large oil painting "Löwe im Kampf mit einem Kaffernbüffel“, in a size of 193 x 305 cm, will be called up. This work is a prime example of the animal painter’s mastery.
Besides Franz Krüger‘s "Bildnis Johann Gottfried Schadow" (no. 115, estimate: € 3 000, proceeds: € 10 000*) and Jules Bastien-Lepage‘s "Selbstporträt" (no. 67, estimate: € 1 000, proceeds: € 7 000*) other good results were also realized by Eugen Gustav Dücker‘s "Ostseestrand" (no. 91). The phone lines ran hot for this lot, until a North German collector ended the international bidder offensive at € 14 000*.
All unsold lots will be offered in the post-auction sale until late November 2009. Lists of the auction’s results can be ordered by calling +49-89-55244-444. Please find further information on www.kettererkunst.com.
* Proceeds equal hammer price + 22 percent buyer’s premium.
Ketterer Kunst
Joseph-Wild-Str. 18
81829 Munich
Michaela Derra
Tel.: +49 (0)89-55244-0 or -152
Fax: +49 (0)89-55244-177
e-mail: m.derra@kettererkunst.de
Ketterer Kunst
Joseph-Wild-Str. 18
81829 Munich
Tel.: +49-(0)89-55244-444
Fax: +49 (0)89-55244-177
e-mail: info@kettererkunst.com
