MUNICH.- He was a man with many talents and led an eventful life coined by one passion: Serge Sabarsky loved art. He collected works from the most significant German expressionists and artists of Viennese Modernism. Now five works from his legendary collection will be called up in what is probably going to be the most spectacular auction at Ketterer Kunst, Germany’s leading house for art from after

Serge Sabarsky was one of the most fascinating personalities of the international art trade – despite the fact that he entered the art world not before his mid-fifties. The son of Russian parents was born in Vienna in 1912 and fled the Nazi regime in 1938/39. At first he went to France and eventually arrived the USA, where his artistic gift enabled him to not only work as commercial artist and stage designer, but also as interior designer and architect.

In 1968 he eventually opened his gallery on Madison Avenue in New York, and became a recognized art dealer and collector, as well as a famous curator and art impresario. The enterprising art lover was on the board of the Egon Schiele Art Center in the Czech Republic and made plans with Ronald Lauder to open the museum ‘Neue Galerie’ in New York. Egon Schiele is definitely the key artist in both his own collection in particular, as well as of Viennese Modernism in general.

Accordingly, the small array of works from the collection is led by Egon Schiele’s water-colored pencil drawing “Schlafende“ (estimate: € 250,000-350,000) from 1912. The tender work was rendered with great aplomb and is particularly captivating for the execution of the hairdo, which adds a fascinating haptic presence to the sheet. In addition, it is also especially convincing for its international exhibition history. It was shown at, among others, the Venice Biennale, the Tel Aviv Museum, the Kunsthalle Hamburg, as well as at museums in Copenhagen, New York, Paris, Prague and Vienna.

The mastery of Schiele, pioneer of Austrian Expressionism and a key figure in Vienna at the turn of the century, is uncontested, especially as he also had a dazzling personality. The year this work was made, he was accused of leading an immoral and scandalous life and was sentenced to a short time in prison.




Scandalous may also have been the authority’s verdict of the pencil drawing “Liebespaar“ from 1913. The fascinating sheet with an erotic appeal and a notion of voyeuristic tension created by the captivating look is estimated at € 150,000-250,000.

“Paar in Umarmung“ from 1914 will enter the race with an estimate of € 180,000-250,000. The black chalks drawing presumably shows Edith Harms, Egon Schiele’s later wife, and her nephew Paul Erdmann. This impressive work has also been part of many international exhibitions and used to be in the possession of Schiele’s close friend Anton Peschka, who married Gertrude Schiele, the artist’s sister, the year it was made.

The small suite from the prominent Serge Sabarsky Collection is completed by the 1919 relief “Ornamentale Plastik“ (estimate: € 80,000-120,000) from Oskar Schlemmer, which was of seminal importance for sculpting in Germany, as well as by Alfred Kubin’s India ink drawing “Orientalische Phantasie (Türkischer Heerbann)“. The magnificently composed sheet is a prime example of the artist’s graphic mastery and will be called up with an estimate of € 100,000-150,000.

Next to the works from the Sabarsky Collection, the section of MODERN ART offers iconic works from “Painters of the Brücke - Collection Hermann Gerlinger“. Among them Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s “Das blaue Mädchen in der Sonne“ (estimate: € 2,000,000 - 3,000,000), Karl Schmidt- Rottluff’s “Rote Düne“ (estimate: € 800,000-1,200,000) and Erich Heckel’s poplar sculpture “Stehende“ (estimate: € 600,000-800,000). Other highlights are Emil Nolde’s “Meer D“ (estimate: € 800,000 – 1,200,000), Max Beckmann’s “Holzsäger im Wald“ (estimate: € 600,000 – 800,000). More fascinating modern art comes from, among others, Hans (Jean) Arp, Lovis Corinth, Paul Gauguin, Karl Hofer, Max Liebermann, Gabriele Münter, Emil Nolde, Christian Rohlfs and Hermann Max Pechstein.

The section of CONTEMPORARY ART includes big names like Georg Baselitz with his “Hofteich“ (estimate: € 700,000-900,000) and Anselm Kiefer with “Die Ordnung der Engel” (estimate: € 300,000-400,000), but also Günther Förg, Katharina Grosse, Martin Kippenberger, Karin Kneffel, Konrad Lueg, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Günther Uecker and Gerhard Richter, as well as international artists: Richard Serra is represented with “Corner Prop No. 6 (Leena and Tuula)“, estimated at € 600,000-800,000, it is the sculptor’s first unique piece offered on the global auction market since 2016. Another highlight is “He Kept Following Me“ from David Wojnarowicz (estimate: € 350,000- 450,000). The international array is completed by, among others, Tony Cragg, Keith Haring, Sol LeWitt, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Stanley Whitney, who celebrates an auction premiere in Germany.