The esteem in which modern art is held by collectors once again was confirmed at our Selected Works auction: Max Pechstein’s masterpiece Russisches Ballet from 1909, the lot with the highest estimate, went to a private collection in Berlin for a top bid of € 2,425,000. The event’s other big climax was the contest for Grauer Strand by Max Beckmann from 1928, which was won by a European collector ready to offer € 1,765,000 – the auction’s second seven-digit hammer price. A surprise performer was the sculpture Triple N Gyratory II by the American artist George Rickey. Originally estimated at € 150,000 – 200,000, it ended up fetching € 475,000 from a private collection in Berlin after a protracted, cross-border bidding battle. This was the highest price ever paid for one of Rickey’s works. Bidding also was lively for Ernst Wilhelm Nay’s Mit grüner Scheibe from 1964, a painting forming part of the artist’s epoch-making Documenta Bilder series. The work found a new owner in the Rhineland for € 412,500. 6 schöne, 4 hässliche Porträts: hässliches Porträt 9 painted by Georg Baselitz in 1988 also attracted vigorous interest: Garnering many bids in the auction hall and over the phones, a new owner was found for € 400,000, again in the Rhineland. A standout in the contemporary field was Arnulf Rainer’s Dunkle Figur from 1990/91, a market-fresh, signature work by the artist that eventually was sold for € 275,000. Another top draw for buyers from Germany and abroad was the dynamic composition T 1981 – H 12, a masterwork from the late creative phase of Hans Hartung, which went to an Italian bidder for € 262,500 after intense bidding competition.
A special highlight of the auction week on Fasanenstrasse was the set of 70 Expressionist works belonging to the world-class collection formed by Adalbert and Thilda Colsman. The impressive oil painting Hohe See by Emil Nolde was secured by a southern German collection for € 1,585,000 – the third hammer price in the millions to be achieved during our summer auctions. The haunting portrait Christina from 1915, also by Nolde, was taken home by a new owner for € 500,000. The world record for Ewald Mataré now stands at € 275,000, the price paid for Grosse kniende Kuh by a German private collection after extended bidding. Also notable were the € 237,500 fetched by Garten in Soest painted by Christian Rohlfs in 1906 (estimate: € 70,000 – 90,000) and the € 175,000 paid for Otto Dix’s Bettina im Garten from 1952 (estimate: € 50,000 – 70,000).
The Contemporary Art auction as well saw top prices being attained. The bidding for Untitled (Schüttbild), an early work by the only recently deceased Hermann Nitsch, was truly a contest among multiple hard-fighting bidders. An Austrian buyer emerged victorious, but not before the original estimate of € 20,000 – 30,000 had shot up to a sensational € 387,500. Another focal point was (FXXXVIII), a diptych by Karin Kneffel from 1997. The € 350,000 paid by a German art dealership – more than twice the lower estimate of € 150,000 to 200,000 – marks a world-record auction result for Kneffel. The Neue Wilde artist’s circle, as exemplified by its exponents Rainer Fetting and Elvira Bach, once again commanded top prices. Thus, Fetting’s 2 Arabs I from 1983 sold to a private collection in Hesse for € 168,750, well in excess of its estimate of € 40,000 – 60,000). The artist’s The Devil from 1984 also significantly outperformed its original appraisal of € 25,000 – 35,000, fetching € 112,500 from a German dealership. Another object of intense buyer interest was a brightly coloured work on paper by Katharina Grosse, which went to its new owner for € 112,500, or almost ten times its lower estimate of € 15,000 – 20,000.
Our 19th Century Art auction got off to a running start with a rediscovered painting by Amalie Bensinger from Baden that ranks among her major works. Here, vigorous competition culminated in a winning bid of € 47,500 from a private collection in Hesse. Our featured print of Albrecht Dürer’s iconic copperplate engraving Melencholia I found a new owner in Great Britain for € 125,000 after lively international bidding. The charming window view of Dresden’s historic skyline painted by Julius Kaskel, a scion of the prominent Jewish dynasty that founded the bank that was to become Dresdner Bank in 1872, saw its lower estimate increase sevenfold in a matter of minutes, ultimately going to a buyer in New York for € 43,750. Paul Cézanne’s masterful drawing Homme nu, a 19th century work prefiguring modernism, was acquired by a Hessian collector for € 93,750. The auction’s final fireworks were provided by 42 works by Max Klinger, which had been collected systematically by his devoted admirer and contemporary Fritz Tögel, often straight from the artist’s atelier in Leipzig. Having remained with the collector’s family for four generations, these lots prompted lively bidding. They included Klinger’s oversized nude drawing of Gertrud Bock (Weiblicher Akt) and his double-sided oil study of two women (Studien von zwei weiblichen Halbakten), which fetched € 26,250 and € 25,000, respectively, not to mention a number of rare prints and albums.
This season’s Photography auction was dedicated to prominent American colour and street photographers, while also featuring a number of trend-setting international works. A particularly coveted lot was Slim Aaron’s Poolside Pairs, a lush colour image set against the backdrop of the iconic “Kaufmann Desert House” designed by architect Richard Neutra; this sold to a private collection in southern Germany for € 25,000. Die Befreiung der Finger by Dieter Appelt, known for his performance, concept, and object art, recouped an impressive € 23,750 (estimate: € 7,000 – 9,000) and is now owned by a private collection in France. Another catalogue item worth mentioning is Lee Friedlander’s NYC from 1963; this work by one of the great masters of US street photography was snapped up by a German private collection for € 18,750, and thus well above its estimate of € 8,000 – 10,000.
All told, Grisebach generated sales of 25 million Euros during the first half of 2022.
Micaela Kapitzky
* all results incl. premium