Auctions continue to soar
Considerable results for art of up to
€ 20 000
Munich, 26 October 2010, (kk) - With a respectable overall result of € 2 million* and many world record prices, the auction of "Modern and Contemporary Art", intended as an interim auction with works of up to € 20.000, was one of Germany’s very important auctions this year.
"24 per cent new customers and an average increase of 45% (ration between limit and hammer price) per sold object, once more confirm that art as a means of investment is more in demand than ever before", said Robert Ketterer about the first part of his fall auctions**. He continued: "Quality is what matters, this has also been proven by more than a dozen lots that went far beyond the € 20 000-mark". One can be excited about the coming auction of Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century on Friday 29 October.
Nr. 359: Bruno Paul Seener
Die drei Grazien
Record price
€ 51 000* Starting price: € 9 000
Nr. 116: Albert Birkle
Damenbildnis
€ 44 000* Starting price: € 12 000
Nr. 183: Otto Freundlich
Komposition
€ 37 000* Starting price: € 14 000
Nr. 655: Fritz Koenig
Pietà
€ 33 000* Starting price: € 12 000
Nr. 15: Lea Grundig
In den Abgrund
Record price
The focal points were on:
1. Modern Art
1.1. Sidelines of the German Avant-garde
2. Post War/Contemporary Art
on 1: Modern Art
The October auctions were opened with the section of Modern Art, which was lead by Bruno Paul Seener’s impressive oil painting "Die drei Grazien" (lot 359) from 1937, estimated at € 14 000-18 000, a bidder from Southern Europe relegated competitors from Germany and abroad, e.g. from Hong Kong, to second places and beyond, allowing the world-record price *** of € 59 000*.
Lovely ladies seem to have taken a shine to the same bidder, as neither half a dozen phone bidders nor a good deal of written bids and bidders in the room could stop his eagerness to get hold of Albert Birkle‘s "Damenbildnis - Elisabeth Starosta mit Chiffon-Bluse und Hut" (lot 116). For a result of € 51 000* he can now call the strong character portrait his own. His bid did not only make for the auction’s sharpest increase, it also is the highest price ever paid for a lady’s portrait by the artist ***.
A "Komposition" on cardboard (lot 183) by Otto Freundlich from 1938, very appealing particularly as far as the coloring is concerned, went to France for a result of 44 000*. A Paris gallery stood its ground against other European competitors on the phone and allowed more than a threefold of the starting price of € 12 000.
Results of € 29 000* each were realized by both Karl Caspar‘s oil painting "Mariens Gang über das Gebirge" (lot 130), called up at € 7 000, as well as Karl Hofer‘s "Montagnola (?)" (lot 209), which had been estimated at € 18 000-24 000. While the first went to Southern Europe, the light-flooded Ticino landscape still calls Germany its home.
A strong bidding skirmish broke out when Alexander Kanoldt‘s oil painting "Wiesenlandschaft mit Gehöft" (lot 216) was called up, it was eventually stopped by a private collector. With a result of € 27 000*, he got his way against bidders from mostly Germany.
The same price was allowed to honor a work by Walter Dexel whose "Straße bei Florenz (Zur Porta Romana II)" (lot 157) from 1913, won the heart of an art lover, who won over competitors on the phone and made for a threefold of the starting price.
On 1.1. Sidelines of the Germany Avant-garde
The top result for the special part Sidelines of the German Avant-garde, which was presented as an individual complex of works for the seventh time, was achieved by Lea Grundig‘s impressive pen and India ink drawing and India ink drawing "In den Abgrund" (lot 15), which was called up at € 12 000. A great interest and strong tenacity enabled a collector from Greece to grant a sharp increase and a final result of € 34 000*. Additionally, this result set the world-record price*** for a work by this artist.
Other great prices were achieved by three works by Harold Bengen, for instance by the oil painting "Akt in der Brandung" (lot 6, starting price: € 2 200, result: € 8 500*) as well as by Willy Graba‘s "Tunis" (lot 14, starting price: € 2 000, result: € 5 200*) and Joseph Friedrich Gustav Binder‘s "Abstraktion" (lot 9, starting price: € 1 500, result: € 4 600*).
| Lot no. |
Artist (Technique) | Title | Starting price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 199 | Heckel (watercolor) | Landschaft in Angeln | € 8 000 | € 22 900* |
| 288 | Müller (oil) | Liegender weiblicher Akt … | € 13 000 | € 19 500* |
| 225 | Kleinschmidt (oil) | Stillleben mit Rosen, Vasen... | € 8 000 | € 19 500* |
| 337 | Purrmann (watercolor) | Südliche Landschaft (Ischia) | € 6 000 | € 18 300* |
| 263 | Marcks (bronze) | Melusine I | € 12 000 | € 17 000* |
| 317 | Picasso (linocut in colors) | Femme endormie | € 8 000 | € 15 900* |
| 176 | Feininger (watercolor) | Six Manikins | € 8 000 | € 15 200* |
on 2. Post War/Contemporary Art
The list of results of this section is led by Fritz Koenig‘s bronze "Pietà" (lot5), which could only get into the hands of a collector from the Ruhr region for € 37 000* (starting price: € 14 000) after a fierce bidding skirmish against bidders in the room and on the phone. On top of that, two jewelry objects by the same artist (lot 656: necklace "Biga", starting price: € 3 500, result: € 11 600* and lot 657: "Ring mit Pferdekopf", starting price: € 2 500, result: € 5 500*) were also very successful.
Another work that made it to the top is Dieter Krieg‘s "Ohne Titel (Kotelett im Schlaufe)" (lot 662), which went to a German collector whose written bid had more than enough stamina to withhold an intensive bidding skirmish on the phone, eventually his € 23 000* (starting price: € 8 000) made for yet another world record price***.
A new customer from Southern France managed to stop the bidding frenzy of his competitors from Germany and Great Britain at € 16 000*, and thus decided the competition over Antony Donaldson‘s "Trailer" (lot 562) for himself. He did not only allow more than a tenfold of the starting price of € 1 500, but also made for the sharpest increase in this auction and a new world record*** for a work by the artist.
Besides a packed auction room, a dozen bidders on the phone and numerous written bids were attracted by Bruno Munari‘s untitled oil painting from 1951 (lot 694). The Italian fraction decided this skirmish almost exclusively amongst themselves, which is why it is no surprise that the squared "gem" from a Hamburg private collector went to a Northern Italian art dealer for a result of € 16 000* (starting price: € 4 500).
Just as Munari‘s work was popular among the Italians, Sigmar Polke‘s "Parkett-Jubiläum II" (lot 706) was popular with German bidders and it needed a Southern German private collector and almost the same amount, roundabout € 15 000* (starting price: € 5 500) to obtain the artist book from 1994.
About a dozen works by Friedensreich Hundertwasser were much sought-after, not only were they almost entirely sold, they also went for sums far beyond their starting price. The highlight was the India ink drawing "Figur und Spirale" (lot 618), which climbed from € 6 000 to € 14 600*. Austria will be the new home of the work that also set a new world record for a drawing by the artist.
Other objects that realized excellent increases:
| Lot no. | Artist (Technique) | Title | Starting price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 793 | Zimmer (oil) | Mensch und Tier | € 7 500 | € 14 600* |
| 519 | Balkenhol (bronze) | Paar | € 8 000 | € 14 600* |
| 701 | Pfahler (acrylic) | K – 69/II | € 6 000 | € 13 400* |
| 531 | Bott (mixed media) | Komposition | € 5 000 | € 12 200* |
| 589 | Grieshaber (gouache) | Ohne Titel | € 3 000 | € 12 200* |
| 600 | Hartung (oil chalk) | P3-1977-H23 | € 4 000 | € 10 100* |
| 566 | Essig (mixed media) | Meerlandschaft | € 5 500 | € 10 000* |
All unsold objects can be purchased in the post auction sale up until late November 2010. List of results can be obtained by phone at 0049-89-55244-0.
* The result is the hammer price + 22 percent buyer’s premium.
** Unlike other German auction houses, Ketterer Kunst holds its season auctions on
several days. The auction of Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century
will be held on 29 October and the main auction of Modern and Contemporary Art
will be held on 4 December.
*** source: www.artnet.com
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|---|---|
| Ketterer Kunst | Ketterer Kunst |
| Joseph-Wild-Str. 18 | Joseph-Wild-Str. 18 |
| 81829 Munich | 81829 Munich |
| Michaela Derra M.A. | |
| phone:+49-(0)89-55244-152 (Fax: -177) | phone:+49-(0)89-55244-444 (Fax.:-177) |
| e-mail: m.derra@kettererkunst.de | e-mail: info@kettererkunst.com |
