With Max Beckmann’s painting Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa from 1943, we are offering a masterwork of German art history the likes of which have not been seen on the auction market since 1945. The work was created during the artist’s exile in Amsterdam and was a gift to his wife Quappi. It is the absolute highlight of the upcoming Winter Auctions at Grisebach and also ranks among the top lots on offer in the international auction market’s fall season (press release of 20 October, 2022).
One of the most surprising and unique offerings will be Otto Dix’s metallically glossy painting Katzen (Theodor Däubler gewidmet), which he created in 1920 at the peak of his Dada phase (EUR 800,000 / 1,200,000). Max Liebermann will be represented at the Selected Works auction on 1 December with several of his greatest works: The garden scene Blumenstauden im Nutzgarten nach Nordwesten derives its magical allure from the frenzied state in which the artist seems to have painted it: Departing almost entirely from naturalist realism, he renders the interplay of riotous vegetation and shades of light solely through colour (EUR 300,000 / 400,000). Schafherde, painted in 1888 after memorable sojourns in France and the Netherlands (EUR 250,000 / 350,000), just like our painting Reiter am Meer nach rechts, number among the salient works that were exhibited at the grand retrospective of the artist’s work held in honor of his 70th birthday at Berlin’s Königliche Akademie der Künste in the summer of 1917. Following the successful sale of Russisches Ballett this past summer, Grisebach is proud to offer a further top work by Max Pechstein: Fischerhäuser in Nidden, painted in the summer of 1909 and notable for its impasto texture, is estimated at EUR 400,000 / 600,000. Herbstliche Landstraße (1910) by Gabriele Münter is an unmistakable creation of the Blauer Reiter school of Expressionism, expressing the full power and vitality of this boldly innovative artistic movement (EUR 250,000 / 350,000). And there are further hidden treasures in store such as the drawing Mother and Child (Mutter und Kind) by Egon Schiele, which shows how even the simplest draftsmanship can evoke multi-layered emotions and give us insight into the subjects’ character (EUR 180,000 / 240,000). Or Wassily Kandinsky’s water colour Ohne Titel from 1928, which contains every single one of the elements that made this artist’s work during the 1920s so unique (EUR 100,000 / 150,000). Another rarity are three golden bronzes by Karl Friedrich Schinkel from the series “Ritt der Nereiden“ – known from the large Schinkel fountain at Charlottenhof Palace Sanssouci Park in Potsdam (each EUR 50,000/70,000).
The curated Evening Auction will also showcase top-tier works of international Contemporary Art. Take Sitting Figures, for example, a spectacular, two-part ensemble of “life-sized” bronzes by British sculptor Lynn Chadwick from 1979/80 (estimated at EUR 800,000 / 1,200,000). Another sculptural work, George Segal’s iconic Woman on Park Bench (1998), tells of nothing less than the process of becoming, being, and passing away that all life on earth must go through. The woman leaves the viewer to address the inescapable question of “what remains?” (EUR 200,000 / 300,000). B 26, painted in 1965 by the Polish-American artist Wojciech Fangor, derives its singular, masterful quality from the highly attractive colour palette in which the pulsating circle is rendered (EUR 200,000 / 300,000). Another particularly intense and forceful creation is Herrmann Nitsch’s Kreuzwegstation, which has been on loan to the Saarlandmuseum for the past twenty years. This monumental work, with its thickly applied crimson reds, is a fitting tribute to the oeuvre of the Vienna-based performance artist, who died this year (EUR 180,000 / 240,000).
A key highlight of the Contemporary Art Auction, which we traditionally hold towards the end of our auction series at Fasanenstrasse, will be Rosemarie Trockel’s monochrome knitting picture Ohne Titel (1990), which cogently epitomizes the artist’s decidedly critical stance towards the media and questions of gender (EUR 300,000 / 400,000). Its intensive blue hue suggests depth and seems to invite us to dive headlong into the abstract pictorial space. Another outstanding lot is the large-scale watercolour Portrait (1991) by the Austrian Martha Jungwirth. Overlooked by the art market for many years, this artist finally is enjoying the recognition she deserves (EUR 50,000 / 70,000). Or take The Temple, a painting from 1986 by A.R. Penck, whose works have been commanding stunning bids on the global market for some time now: Here, the artist literally turns his world-famous iconography on its head, practically catapulting it into our here and now (EUR 150,000 / 200,000). The Contemporary Art auction furthermore will feature 11 works from the Schering Stiftung collection, including ones by Karl Horst Hödicke, Christo, and Roy Lichtenstein.
In an effort to bring even more vigor, international visibility and reach to the photography market – and as an open invitation to a whole new generation of bidders – we will be holding our photography auctions exclusively online starting this Autumn (timed auction from 25 November until 4 December).
All told, the winter auctions to be held on 1 and 2 December will feature 481 artworks with a cumulative average estimate of EUR 42.5 million.
A preview of all these works will be held at our three locations on Berlin’s Fasanenstrasse (25, 27, 73) from 23 November until 30 November. Max Beckmann’s Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa, currently being shown at our New York preview until 10 November, will also be exhibited in Berlin from 23 November until 30 November.
Micaela Kapitzky