The auction of the Grisebach founder's collection for the benefit of a museum in exile in Berlin broke all records: "The art market event of the year" (Welt am Sonntag) was the largest auction of a collection of post-1945 drawings in Germany.
Following the impressive interest in the previews with over 5,000 visitors and the extensive press coverage in Germany and abroad, a total of 6.5 million euros* was realised in the three auctions with an estimate of 5 million euros.
Bernd Schultz: "I am very happy that most of the works on paper that I have cherished, cared for and loved for decades have now passed into other appreciative hands. The proceeds from the auctions will be a strong tailwind for the ExilMuseum to be founded in Berlin. After 'saying goodbye' to my collection, an energetic new beginning is now starting for the museum project."
Among the more than 100 lots in the first auction of Old Master and 19th century drawings, the works of art by the French particularly shone: the top lots here were the studies by Toulouse-Lautrec (EUR 356,250), Watteau (EUR 87,500), Ingres (EUR 87,500) and Degas (EUR 118,750).
In the auction of Modern and Contemporary Art on Friday, the iconic sheet "Abschied" by Käthe Kollwitz from 1910 realised the highest hammer price of EUR 437,500. The suite of five outstanding drawings by Kollwitz, one of the central artists in the Bernd Schultz Collection, realised a total of EUR 838,500.
The important self-portrait by Oskar Kokoschka achieved the second-highest price in the auction at EUR 362,500. Exceptional results were achieved for works by Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Hermann Glöckner, Edvard Munch and Pablo Picasso.
*all results incl. buyer's premium