MUNICH.- Around € 21 million, that is the strong result of the auctions at
Ketterer Kunst in the first half of 2016. The departments of Modern and Contemporary Art alone provided a remarkable figure above € 17 million*. Accordingly, the top seller makes the first place once again in this section in Germany.
The department of Rare Books with the best spring result in the history of Ketterer Kunst, as well as the department of 19th Century Art with an average increase of more than 100% per sold lot delivered excellent figures, too.
“The demand for high-class objects is constant. Our great results deliver proof thereof and make for perfect conditions for the autumn auction season“, says auctioneer and company owner Robert Ketterer. He sums up: ”Our concept of offering good quality at attractive estimates pays off.”
TOP 10
1. € 700,000 Max Pechstein, Stürmisches Wetter an der Ostsee (Beschienene Wellen)
2. € 525,000 Günther Uecker, Feld I
3. € 437,500 Wassily Kandinsky, Kleines Warm
4. € 400,000 Alexej von Jawlensky, Sonnenuntergang, Borkum
5. € 375,000 Otto Mueller, Zwei Mädchen auf der Waldwiese (…) Im Gras
6. € 362,500 Willi Baumeister, Homunkulus aufsteigend
7. € 350,000 Otto Piene, Luther Rose
8. € 300,000 Franz von Stuck, Frühling
8. € 300,000 Tony Cragg, Runner
9. € 262,500 Oskar Schlemmer, Sitzende
9. € 262,500 Günther Uecker, Weißes Feld
10. € 250,000 Anselm Kiefer, Lapis Philosophorum
The fact that good quality and moderate estimate prices lead to excellent price increases has also been proven by more than 40 results on or beyond the € 100,000 line – which puts this auction at eye level with the results from spring 2015.
Accordingly, the department of Post War/Contemporary Art alone provided a total of 27 results on or beyond this magic mark. Günther Uecker's top lot “Feld I” was lifted to a result of € 525,000, almost a threefold of the calling price, at the same time it is a prime example of the good figures that his ZERO colleagues realized in general. Alongside Adolf Luther, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Jan Schoonhoven and Herbert Zangs, works by, among others, Josef Albers, Willi Baumeister, Hans Hartung, Anselm Kiefer, Yves Klein, Maria Lassnig, Georges Mathieu, Gerhard Richter, Sean Scully and Andy Warhol were also very popular with the bidders.
Apart from a new German auction record for a work by the Spaniard Julio González, the Modern Art department offered works by Alexej von Jawlensky, Wassily Kandinsky, Otto Mueller and Max Pechstein that reached prices in mid- and upper six-digit realms. The special auction “Eine Sammlung der Klassischen Moderne” (A Collection of Modern Art) showed a great performance. Both the quality and a first time appearance on the market must have been the decisive criteria why some 77% of the objects found new owners - all of them with great increase rates. Additionally, this section included highlights by, among others, Heinrich Campendonk, Karl Hofer, Alexander Kanoldt, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Walter Leistikow, Franz Marc, Henri Matisse, Gabriele Münter, Emil Nolde and Oskar Schlemmer.
With total proceeds of € 1.5 million, the department of 19th Century Art was very successful. The new concept that puts the focus on art from the 19th and early 20th century surely has a good share in this success. The interest in this era is constantly growing and the high-quality range of offers was well-received. Both a sales quota of 80% by lots and around 40% first time buyers speak for themselves. With a result of € 300,000 Franz von Stuck's oil painting “Frühling”, which realized a ten-fold of its calling price, was the auction's star. Besides half a dozen other objects by Stuck, works by artist such as Heinrich Bürkel, Jan Chelminski, Edouard Léon Cortès, Albert Flamm, Caspar David Friedrich, Ludwig von Hofmann, Alexander Koester, Wilhelm (Guillaume) Koller, Wilhelm Kuhnert and Albert Weisgerber also saw sharp increases.
Total proceeds of more than € 1.9 million provided utmost satisfaction in the section of Rare Books - Manuscripts - Autographs - Decorative Prints, a result that not only excels last spring's figures by € 400,000 but also is the department's best spring result ever. Christoph Calaminus, the department head, explains: “I am delighted that we were able to expand the slightly rising tendency from spring 2015. What is decisive for this success is the high quality of our range of offerings that attracted some 28% first time buyers, 8% more than last spring.“
