Villa Grisebach is presenting itself with a completely revamped visual appearance for its 250th auction at the end of November. At the centre of interest are two major works by Emil Nolde and Max Beckmann from the 1930s, each estimated at 1 million euros - the capital "Bright Sunflower Painting" from 1936 by Nolde and the dreamy "Portrait of a Young Girl", which Beckmann created in exile in Amsterdam. The auction of Selected Works on 26 November will provide an excellent insight into the artists of classical modernism who have shaped Grisebach's success story since 1986: Collectors can expect exemplary works by Max Liebermann, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Lesser Ury and Karl Hofer, whose "Seated Nude with Blue Cushion" hung in the Munich exhibition "Degenerate Art" in 1937 and is now estimated at 250,000-350,000 euros. The paintings "Der elektrische Zähler" by Walter Dexel (1922) and "Composition No. 42" by Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart (1928) are also important works by two main representatives of Constructivist art of the 1920s (EUR 120,000-150,000 and EUR 100,000-150,000 respectively).
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that all three major edition projects by Marcel Duchamp will be offered for the first time in the "Selected Works" auction: At the top is the "Red Suitcase" (EUR 200,000-300,000), a kind of miniature museum of all Duchamp's works reproduced by the artist himself; also on offer are the "White Box" and the "Green Box" as well as a previously unknown portrait drawing of Duchamp by the hand of his patron Katherine Dreier from 1918.
The strong offering from the post-war period, headed by two brilliant paintings by Ernst Wilhelm Nay ("Balance jouyeuse" from 1956 and "Dominant Gelb" from 1959) and a "Montaru" painting by Willi Baumeister (EUR 200,000-300,000), then leads on to the "Contemporary Art" offering. Here, an extensive group of works by Andy Warhol stands out, including two early flower canvases from 1964 (EUR 150,000-200,000), followed by a diverse range of paintings by German artists since 1970, with numerous works by Gerhard Richter, Imi Knoebel, Georg Baselitz and Günter Förg.
Traditionally, the auction week begins on Wednesday, 25 November with the sale of works from the 19th century: A marble sculpture by Johann Gottfried Schadow from 1798, which has always been owned by the family, stands out here (EUR 100,00-150,000), as does a major work by the French painter Théodule Ribot, which drastically depicts a drunkard (EUR 160,000-180,000).
A total of 1,658 works of art with an average total estimate of 23 million euros will be offered in eight catalogues on four auction days in Fasanenstrasse. Following the "19th Century Art" auction, "Photographs" will be auctioned on 25 November (see separate press release). On Thursday, 26 November, the auctions "Orangerie" (see separate press release) and "Selected Works" will be auctioned. On Friday, 27 November, "Modern Art", "Prints and Editions" and "Contemporary". The "Third Floor" auction will conclude the anniversary auctions on Saturday, 28 November. The preview in Berlin begins on 20 November at Fasanenstraße 25, 27 and 73.
Bernd Schultz: "We are delighted that with the 250th auction we have been able to put together an offering of works of art that conveys an excellent impression of what Grisebach stands for."