In the spring auctions at Villa Grisebach, works of art were sold for 18.5 million euros over four days. The auction attracted the greatest response to date from national and international collectors. In addition to the numerous bidders in the auction room, there were 850 telephone bids and over 1300 written bids for the approximately 1650 lots.
The highest hammer price of the auction week was the € 575,000* achieved for an early landscape painting by Max Liebermann in the "19th Century Art" auction (estimate € 300,000/ 400,000). This auction was the most successful in this category since its introduction in 2011, with total gross sales of €3 million and an estimate of €1.5 to 2 million. The second-highest hammer price was achieved here for a large landscape painting by Joseph Anton Koch, which went to a private collection in California for €312,500 (estimate €140,000/180,000).
In the evening auction, two objects from the Classical Modern period experienced a particular increase: a white relief by Ben Nicholson rose in an international bidding battle to € 537,500 (estimate € 120,000/150,000) and a sculpture by Eduardo Chillida measuring just 19 centimetres in height achieved € 562,500 (€ 180,000/240,000). An early portrait of a woman by Frantisek Kupka "The Pink Hat" also attracted international interest at € 350,000 (estimate € 120,000/150,000).
The Contemporary Art department was very strong. The € 337,500 for a large painting by Konrad Klapheck (estimate € 200,000/300,000) and the numerous very high hammer prices for works by Günther Förg stood out.
The "Third Floor" auction, which offers works of art under €3,000, also achieved its best result since its inception thanks to the great commitment of young collectors and lively participation from the Internet. In total, it generated almost 1 million euros in sales.
* All prices incl. buyer's premium