MUNICH.- This might well going to be the most spectacular Ketterer Kunst auction of works from the 19th to the 21st century: There is huge potential for many hammers in the millions, when Germany’s leading auctioneer for art from 1900 onward will call up, among other things, the cream of the crop of Modern Art, as well as high caliber works of contemporary art in Munich on December 9/10.

“We have never before offered such a top-class and globally relevant range of art,“ says Robert Ketterer, auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst. He explains: “What consignors value is the network of collectors around the world we have established over nearly 70 years. They entrust us with their treasures for they know that our expertise, global marketing and personal service will lead to international top prices.“

“Ketterer Kunst is the house that realizes highest proceeds with relatively few lots, which gives us more time to focus on the perfect presentation of every single work,“ says Robert Ketterer. “We can shine the right light even on works that have never been on the German market or not on the global market for a long time. This season our cosmopolitan clientele can enjoy an English version of the Evening Sale’s print catalog instead of just the English online version.“

“Indeed, next to an ever growing auction traffic from abroad, we also see more and more consignments from European and American collections“, says Nicola Gräfin Keglevich, Senior Director at Ketterer Kunst. “Of course, Brexit plays into our hands: Subsequent to the extremely successful auctions of the past years, we have now been entrusted with international lots that would have gone to London in the past, while clients in New York value both Munich as an attractive art hub as well as the fact that our house has established itself in the Continental European Top 3 in its segment next to the two world market leaders.“

Dr. Mario von Lüttichau, academic consultant at Ketterer Kunst, is particularly happy about the museum quality of so many works: “It is not only the scores of masterpieces with a museum character, some of which come into the auction right from a museum exhibition, but also the one-of-a-kind combination of Expressionism and Contemporary Art. Ideas typical of Modern Art are important aspects of the current zeitgeist and fascinate today’s collectors of Contemporary Art. Art lovers and collectors of many generations share a passion for the expressive, the luminous and the volumetric.“

The “Kunstkompass 2022” issued by the German business magazine ‘CAPITAL” documents the global contemporary artist ranking. Many of the most important ones are regular guests at Ketterer Kunst:

POST WAR/CONTEMPORARY ART - INTERNATIONAL

This is the first time in six years that a unique piece by Richard Serra is offered on the market. Works by the famous sculptor are in many renowned museums like the MOMA, New York, Tate Modern, London and the Centre Pompidou, Paris. “Corner Prop No, 6 (Leena and Tuula)“ from 1983 is a space- defining signature piece from the early work group of the “Props“, which are particularly fascinating for their fragile balance of light- and massiness. It is estimated at € 600,000- 800,000.

Andy Warhol, who is represented with several works, sets a striking accent: He staged the “Goethe“ portrait from 1982 de- contextualized, this series is sold as the wanted matching set (estimate: € 300,000-500,000).

The so-called “Subway Drawings“ marked the beginning of Keith Haring’s meteoric career in the early 1980s. These works made him one of the most important American graffiti artists of the 20th century. Now one of the very rare chalk drawings in the original New York Subway frame is going to enrich the Evening Sale with an estimate of € 300,000-400,000.

The Liverpool native Tony Cragg is one of the most acclaimed sculptors of the present day. He lives and works in Wuppertal, and his works are at, among others, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the London Tate Gallery and the Paris Centre Pompidou. With “Distant Cousin“ from 2007, one of his internationally sought-after high gloss polished stainless steel sculptures will be called up. The estimate is at € 250,000-350.000.

“N.O. 9th Ward“ from 2007 (estimate: € 150,000-250,000) is the first work by the American painter Stanley Whitney that is offered in an auction in Germany. Similar paintings by the documenta artist, who is represented by the acclaimed Gagosian Gallery, are part of the collections of the Metropolitan Museum and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The multinational range of offers is completed by works from, among others, big names like Sam Francis, Alex Katz, Jannis Kounellis, Yoshitomo Nara, Mimmo Rotella, Jan Schoonhoven and Frank Stella.




POST WAR/CONTEMPORARY ART - NATIONAL

The section of Post War Art is led by Georg Baselitz’ monumental work “Hofteich“. Estimated at€ 700,000-900,000, this is the first time that it is offered on the auction market. It was made in 1975, the year the artist represented Germany at the XIII Sao Paolo Biennial.

Ernst Wilhelm Nay’s “Leuchtendes Dunkel“ is ennobled with an excellent provenance and a renowned exhibition history. The high-contrast work from the significant period of the “Disc Pictures” is estimated at € 400,000-600,000.

Made for the 1986 exhibition “Beuys zu Ehren“ at the Munich Lenbachhaus, the nail work “Sturz des künstlerischen Genius (für Joseph Beuys)“ testifies to Günther Uecker’s appreciation for his fellow artist Joseph Beuys. The expressive 150x150x15 cm work is estimated at € 450,000-550,000.

Similar tension might arise in the saleroom when Anselm Kiefer’s “Die Ordnung der Engel“ (estimate: € 300,000-400,000) and Karin Kneffel’s untitled 2016 oil painting (estimate: € 180,000-220,000), as well as a “Pour Picture“ by Hermann Nitsch from 1986 (estimate: € 100,000-120,000) will be called up. Other works in this section come from acclaimed artists like Katharina Grosse, Martin Kippenberger, Konrad Lueg, Gerhard Richter, David Wojnarowicz and many others.

MODERN ART:

After the outstanding White Glove Sale in spring, in which the first 45 works from the Collection Hermann Gerlinger were entirely sold with sharp price increases, the international art market now awaits the second tranche. A total of 90 works are offered in the two separate catalogs “Die Brücke – Expressive!“ and “It all began with an idea – Die Brücke!“.

With Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s “Das Blaue Mädchen in der Sonne“, both a key work from the one- of-a-kind collection, as well as a masterpiece of Expressionism will be sold. Today paintings of this quality are almost exclusively museum-owned. This is a one-time opportunity to acquire this solitaire in the artist’s creation, which is particularly captivating for the ingeniously reduced, powerful and high- contrast coloring, for the estimate of € 2,000,000-3,000,000.

Major Kirchner works in the collection are the “Hockende“ (estimate: € 700,000-900,000), one of the few preserved sculptures by the artist and an absolute rarity on the international art market, as well as “Fehmarnküste mit Leuchtturm“ from 1913 (estimate: € 700,000-900,000) and the 1910 oil painting “Im Wald“ (estimate: € 600,000-800,000). While the first is a prime example from his important creative period in Berlin, the latter is a masterpiece of the accomplished “Brücke“ style, a highlight from the artist group’s important activities on the Moritzburg Ponds.

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff’s “Rote Düne“ dated 1913 will enter the race with an estimate of € 800,000- 1,200,000. Characterized by radiant colors and a life-affirming vitality, the nude, which is the artist’s most clearly defined work of those days in terms of its formal expression, was exhibited at the Museum Folkwang in Hagen, the then leading house for contemporary art, a year after it was made.

Other Schmidt-Rottluff highlights in the Gerlinger Collection are the 1912 oil painting “Lesende (Else Lasker-Schüler)“, estimated at € 700,000-900,000, it captures the dazzling avant-garde figure in a cubist homage, as well as the two works “Sitzende im Grünen“ from 1910 and “Mondschein“ from 1919, both estimated at € 600,000-800,000.

As the third in the group, Erich Heckel is represented with, among other things, his 1909 work “Landschaft bei Rom“ and “Figuren am Strand“ from 1912. Both works look back on an important exhibition history and carry an estimate of € 400,000-600,000 each.

Heckel’s poplar sculpture “Stehende“ dated 1920 is the artist’s very first wooden sculpture on the market – an absolute rarity. Along with Kirchner, he broke the conventions in sculpting even more radical than in painting, creating inimitable sculptures in the early 20th century. Five of the seven sculptures that have survived are either in the estate or in museums. The fascinating work could now change owners for € 600,000-800,000.

Other works of Modern Art come next to Georg Kolbe’s bronze „Adagio“, dated 1923 and estimated at € 80.000-120.000 from artists like Max Beckmann, Lovis Corinth, Paul Gauguin, Alexej von Jawlensky, Max Liebermann, Gabriele Münter, Emil Nolde, Christian Rohlfs, Egon Schiele, Oskar Schlemmer and Louis Soutter.

Ferdinand Hodler’s oil painting “Kastanienallee bei Biberist“, estimated at € 1,400,000-1,800,000, is another top lot in the auction, the work by the most popular Swiss painter of modern art completes the first-class array.