The stars of this year’s Anniversary Auctions in Berlin will be not one but two works valued at a million euros each, which had been privately held for decades and are coming onto the art market for the first time: The first is the seascape Meer (I) by Emil Nolde from 1947 – a Christmas present from the artist to Jolanthe, the love of his sunset years, who kept it in her possession for the rest of her life. After her death, it was held on loan for many years by the Brücke-Museum in Berlin (EUR 1,000,000/1,500,000).
The second is a spectacular rediscovery: Max Beckmann‘s Badende mit grüner Kabine und Schiffern mit roten Hosen. Inspired by a vacation spent in 1934, during a time of upheaval, at the Dutch seaside resort of Zandvoort, the painting of bathers, a green cabin and boatmen in red trousers is charged with motifs relating to the artist’s personal fate. It has been held as a family heirloom for over eight decades and was last exhibited in 1964 (EUR 1,000,000/1,500,000).
A highlight of the Selected Works Auction on 2nd December will be Max Liebermann’s Impressionist masterpiece Die Grosse Seestrasse in Wannsee mit Spaziergängern, a painting of museum quality that is a remarkable celebration of this particular moment in time, its light and colours (EUR 500,000/700,000). An absolute rarity is Otto Dix’s Selbstbildnis from 1913, an existential self-affirmation by the painter which has been kept as a family heirloom for almost 60 years (EUR 200,000/300,000). Also noteworthy is a signature work by Heinrich Maria Davringhausen from 1917, in which he uses his inimitable, visionary style to portray the poet Theodor Däubler as a wise seer and cosmic judge (EUR 300,000/400,000).
An enchanting rarity is Modeschau from 1925/1935 by the Dadaist Hannah Höch – a collage in which the artist showcases the transformation of artistic sensibilities and emerging feminist consciousness of the 1920s (EUR 100,000/150,000). Metagrün (1963), a composition that draws its power from a vivid synergy of colouration and drawing, is an important, large-scale painting by Ernst Wilhelm Nay, one of the major German painters of the post-war period (EUR 300,000/400,000).
When it comes to contemporary art, the Selected Works auction will also feature top-notch works with outstanding provenances. Sun Dried: Japanese Space, created by Kenneth Noland in 1963, formed part of the historic exhibition devoted to this prominent American artist by the Guggenheim Museum in New York under the title “A Retrospective.” It is one of the first examples of a “shaped canvas” in the history of US art (EUR 400,000/600,000). Another great US artist represented here is Alex Katz: His Black Bathing Suit from 1997 features his unmistakable combination of reduction and figuration, while his impressive use of blue as an endless associative space is remarkable (EUR 280,000/350,000). Further highlights of this auction will be Karl Horst Hödicke’s triptych Potsdamer Platz III from 1977, a significant work from the artist’s early period (EUR 150,000/200,000) and Norbert Schwontkowski’s The Battle from 2011, a particularly fine example of his poetic and magic visual imagery (EUR 30,000/40,000).
The lots on offer for our Contemporary Art Auction on 3rd December will include the second part of works by Annette Kelm, Thomas Demand and Jonathan Meese, which featured in the exceptional exhibitions mounted at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art and the Berlin Biennale over the past thirty years; these artists have shaped the history of the Institute and the Biennale. The auction proceeds will be used to support upcoming projects of KW and of the Berlin Biennale.
The top-drawer works on offer by established contemporary German artists include A.R. Penck’s SPIELEN UND BAUEN from 2002, a typical example of the tension between anarchy and a system which animates the artist’s overall oeuvre (EUR 150,000/200,000), as well as Helmut Middendorf’s City of the Red Nights II from 1982, which celebrates the care-free joie de vivre of urban revelers during the early 1980s: excessive, exhilarating, and bursting with colour.
On 2nd December, we will be offering high-quality works from the significant contemporary art collection assembled by Berliner Sparkasse, following a preview showing from 12th to 18th November. These include five early paintings by Neo Rauch – a collection within the collection characterized by the artist’s typically enigmatic and mystic visual aesthetic (between EUR 40,000/120,000). Also particularly notable in this context is Maria Lassnig’s painting Hände from 1989, a significant work by one of today’s leading female artists (EUR 180,000/240,000); one of Christo’s big, colourful collages of the Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin) from 1994 (EUR 300,000/400,000); Markus Lüpertz’ Traube, an opulent painterly gesture from 1971 (EUR 100,000/150,000); as well as no less than two abstracted landscapes by Per Kirkeby: Soem-Sommer from 1988 and Die Zeit nagt I from 1992 (EUR 120,000/150,000, and EUR 150,000/200,000, respectively). Another highpoint of these auctions is an exciting, oversized work on paper from 1989 by the American Christopher Wool, an impressive example of his non-finito style (EUR 300,000/400,000). The auction proceeds earned from this art collection will be donated to various public services and organizations in Berlin, in keeping with Berliner Sparkasse’s longstanding commitment as one of the largest donors to social welfare projects in the German capital.
“The Art of Photography – A New York Collection:” This photography auction to be held on 1st December will feature over 120 lots of museum-level caliber and breath-taking beauty from a spectacular American collection. Topping the list will be Helmut Newton’s legendary diptych They Are Coming (Dressed/Naked), created in 1981 for French VOGUE. In this iconic pair of images, four female models striding towards the viewer – once wearing nothing but high heels and once dressed and styled, but always in the same order. By this iconic example of photographic art, Newton has emphasized that although nudity can be sexy, it also can be an affirmation of self-confidence and verve (EUR 150,000/200,000). Another top draw from the collection is Richard Avedon’s Dovima with Elephants from 1955, a testament to the golden age of glamour that is probably the single most famous fashion photograph of the 20th century (EUR 100,000/150,000). Then there is Rudolf Koppitz’ Bewegungsstudie, perhaps the most important of all his photographs – the signed bromoil print dates from 1925 and qualifies as a coveted market rarity (EUR 100,000/150,000).
Topping the works on offer in the 19th Century Art auction is Der Witwer from 1873, a scandal-provoking yet celebrated early work by Max Liebermann (EUR 250,000/350,000). Fresh on the market after 100 years of being held as a family heirloom is Carl Schuch’s Ingwertopf mit Orangenhälfte, a painting calling for philosophic interpretation, in which light and colour seem to positively vibrate (EUR 120,000/150,000). Finally there is Schiffswrack bei Castello sul Mare in Rapallo, a masterwork by Théodore Gudin that was once personally owned by Czar Nicholas I and was shown at prestigious venues like the Hermitage in St. Petersburg (EUR 40,000/60,000).
A prominent 19th century work to be offered during the Selected Works Auction is Ernst Ferdinand
Oehme’s Tiroler Landschaft mit Burg Naudersberg from 1847. This painting, associated with the Dresden Romantic school and once owned by a museum, has only recently been rediscovered, after having gone missing one hundred years ago (EUR 100,000/150,000).
In total, 574 artworks with a lower estimate of EUR 16 million will be offered in the six winter auctions to be held from 1st to 3rd December. A preview of all these works will be held at our three locations on Berlin’s Fasanenstrasse (25, 27, 73) from 23rd to 29th November. The special preview of the Berliner Sparkasse Collection will take place one week earlier, from 12th to 18th November.
Micaela Kapitzky