Munich, 15. May 2008, (kk) - Ketterer Kunst bids farewell to the Prinz Alfons Palais; late this year, Robert Ketterer, head of the firm, is opening a House for Art of his own at Neue Messe Munich. "Before that happens, there will be a last Art Brunch on 1 June 2008 on the occasion of the pre-sale viewings to be held from 31 May to 3 June in our rooms at 61 Prinzregentenstrasse. Represented this time as well are the top sellers of the past year: Emil Nolde and Enrico Castellani," says the auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst.

Leading off the Modern Art auction and carrying an estimate of € 150,000-250,000 is the c. 1925 Emil Nolde "Frauenkopf mit rotem Haar" ["Head of a Woman with Red Hair"] in vibrant colours. Probably painted in a single, furiously intensive bout of work, the composition, with the portrait head oriented to a central axis, underscores the evocative powers of this watercolour.

Two more Nolde watercolours will enter the lists carrying similarly high estimates: painted in 1935, "Meer (mit Abendhimmel)" ["Sea (with the Evening Sky"] at € 150,000-200,000 and "Marschlandschaft (mit Sielzug und Bauernhaus)" ["Marsh Landscape (with Sluice and Farmstead)"], dating from 1918 (estimate: € 140,000-180,000. Alongside a 1930s Nolde "Bewaldete Berglandschaft" ["Wooded Mountain Landscape"] (estimate: € 60,000-80,000), a 1930 Nolde watercolour "Rote und gelbe Blüten" ["Red and Blue Blossoms"] (estimate: € 100,000-150,000) is appropriate to the season, bringing Spring into the house. Over half a dozen works by the North German master are to be sold at this particular auction.

From the hand of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff are three watercolours with estimates starting at € 20,000. The dance is led off by a "Mädchen mit blauem Schal" ["Girl Wearing a Blue Scarf"] painted in 1909. This brush drawing in black is notable for an economical scaffolding of line that structures the overall composition, culminating in vibrant blue, green and red. Measuring 66.5 x 48.2 cm, this work from a New York private collection carries an estimate of € 150,000-200,000.

From southern climes, straight from the Côte d’Azur in fact, comes an Italian beauty. The estimate for "Cariatide" ["Caryatid"], an Amedeo Modigliani drawing in coloured chalks done shortly before the first world war, is € 120,000-150,000. Here the artist has remained true to the formal principle of clarity while lending it a sensuality that conveys a subtle eroticism in the compact forms of this nude kneeling in such an elegant pose.

In sharp contrast is a Gabriele Münter 1917 "Stillleben mit Kerzenleuchter" ["Still Life with Candelabra"]. This oil painting dates from the period during which Münter separated from Wassily Kandinsky yet her creative powers seem entirely undiminished. The work is estimated to fetch € 120,000-150,000.

Carrying an estimate in the same bracket at € 100,000-150,000, Heinrich Campendonk’s 1918 in Öl "Selbstbildnis (Ländliche Impression)" ["Self-Portrait (Rural Impression)"] in oils glows in yellows evocative of early summer.

Alexei von Jawlensky’s "Bordighera" is expected to go for a similar sum. The artist was inspired to do this oil painting in vibrant colours by a stay on the Ligurian coast in 1914.

Pablo Picasso’s dancing fauns are frolicking on a green lawn under a blue sky. The estimate for the 1959 colour linocut "Faunes et chèvre" ["Fauns and a Goat"] runs to € 75,000-80,000.

Carrying an estimate of € 60,000-80,000, a 1928 Oskar Schlemmer drawing in pencil and India ink, "Zwei Köpfe, einander zugewandt" ["Two Heads, Facing"] is at the starting line. In it, Schlemmer has produced a stunningly generalizing, de-individualised representation of the human figure. Subtle contrasts of black and white and reductive handling create the mood informed by both spirituality and intellect so typical of Schlemmer, a quality which sets him apart from his Bauhaus colleagues and contemporaries.

Alongside Maurits Cornelis Escher’s "Metamorphosis II" (estimate: € 90,000-95,000), the Modern Art division is featuring a sumptuous offering of works by Erma Bossi, Marc Chagall, Lovis Corinth, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Auguste Herbin, Karl Hofer, Tamara de Lempicka, Henri Matisse, Wilhelm Morgner, Leo Putz, Egon Schiele, Arnold Topp, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Lesser Ury.

A highlight of the Post-War/Contemporary Art division is "Superficie bianca", a work in acrylic on modulated canvas by Enrico Castellani, who is mentioned above (estimate: € 80,000-120,000).

Of the eight works by Jörg Immendorff to go under the hammer, two bronzes carrying estimates of € 60,000-80,000 each are particularly memorable: "Antonius" ["St Antony"] and "Malertod" ["Death of a Painter"]. Nor should the 1990/91 Immendorff oil painting "Café de Flore" be overlooked. Estimated to fetch € 90,000-120,000, it heads the offering of contemporary works. In the "Café de Flore" series painted from 1987, Immendorff alludes to the celebrated café of that name in Paris, frequented by intellectuals. He was intrigued by the idea of assembling living and dead people, role models and friends in one room.

Fritz Winter is also a treat to look forward to at this auction. A triad of Winter oil paintings features "Räume Vertikal Rot" ["Vertical Red Spaces"]. Painted in a large format (251 x 205.5 cm) in 1966, this exciting work is to go under the hammer for € 70,000-90,000.

Another work that is bound to cause a stir in the auction room is "Frau als Eichamt" ["Woman as Office of Weights and Measures"], a 1982 Albert Oehlen oil painting estimated at € 70,000-80,000. A leading exponent of "New Wild Painting", Oehlen was among those who redefined painting as a medium in the early 1980s, overturning conventional notions of art and plumbing the socio-political mood in unruly paintings notable for a turbulent palette and formal turmoil.

"That art is self-generating and then decides itself what it is,"* is the self-proclaimed aesthetic creed of Jonathan Meese, a meteor shooting boldly across the firmament of the international art scene. Nevertheless, the Meese in a large format to be called here carrying an estimate of € 55,000-65,000, "Dr. Lilithyr (General Tanz Sautanz, s.v.p.)", was certainly not self-created but was executed in mixed technique by the master’s own hand.

Diego Giacometti’s "Lampadaire à l’étoile" ["Standing Lamp with Star"] was done as a collaborative work for the Paris designer Jean-Michel Frank. This elegant bronze with green patina is 149 cm high and carries an estimate of € 60,000-70,000.

Contemporary Art, which is also presented in a separate catalogue, is superbly represented by stellar works from the likes of Horst Antes, Fernando Bottero, Lynn Chatwick, Eduardo Chillida, Mauritz Cornelius Escher, Sam Francis, Rupprecht Geiger, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Roy Lichtenstein, Markus Lüpertz, Neo Rauch, Niki de Saint Phalle, Pierre Soulages, Daniel Spoerri, Cy Twombly and Tom Wesselmann.

A highlight of the June auction is the catalogue comprising 65 works to be sold at the special Expressive Realism auction. It includes works by Franz Frank, Franz Gebhardt-Westerbuchberg, Paul Kleinschmidt, Robert Liebknecht, Theodor Rosenhauer, Werner Scholz and Alfred Wais.

Pres-sale viewings of selected works are scheduled for the following dates, times and venues:

Since it was founded in 1954, Ketterer Kunst has been firmly established among the front ranks of auction houses dealing in art and rare books with headquarters at the Prinz-Alfons-Palais in Munich and a branch in Hamburg. Gallery rooms in Berlin and representatives in Heidelberg, Krefeld and New York have contributed crucially to our success. The portfolio has been rounded off by the acquisition of the renowned Ernest Rathenau Verlag, New York/Munich.

*Meese. quoted in: Künstler. Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartskunst, Munich 2006, p. 3