Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s (1880-1938) “Kinderköpfchen“ was sold for a mere 450 German Marks at the Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett in the early 1950s. It had not been offered on the market since then, until today, when it achieved the sensational result of € 1.740.000 (USD$2,317,327) at Ketterer Kunst in Germany.

Made in 1906, the impressive oil painting, which takes after models by such artists as Vincent van Gogh, marks an important step in the development of the “Brücke” style towards Expressionism. A Northern German private collector seemed to be quite aware of this as well. With a result of € 1.740.000* he relegated German and USAmerican competitors to places second and beyond, additionally, he made for a four-fold increase of the starting price.

“All in all, the auction of Modern and Contemporary Art made for a great atmosphere in the auction room and record result. Our autumn auctions** grossed a total of € 13.500.000*. This way we did not only top the excellent results of the last two autumn auctions, we even managed to outdo the record year 2007“, said Robert Ketterer. “More than 20 percent new customers and a sales quota (by lot numbers) of almost 80 percent for Modern Art and almost 70 percent for Contemporary Art once more prove that art is a popular form of investment.” He continued: “It’s quality that matters, and that does not only account for those 15 lots that went far beyond the € 100.000 mark, but also for the impressive sales quota (ratio between limit and hammer price) of an excellent 183 percent for Modern
Art as well as a remarkable 90 percent for Contemporary Art“.

Modern Art

The October auctions were opened by the section of Modern Art, which did not only have Ernst Ludwig Kirchner‘s “Kinderköpfchen“ as a highlight. Works by the “Brücke” artist were generally quite sought-after, and all nine of them were sold. The 1916 woodcut “Nervöse beim Dinner“ (lot 38) is particularly worthwhile mentioning. A Northern German private collector made sure that the work climbed from a starting price of € 30.000 to a result of € 128.000*.

A private collector from Turkey, who had come to Munich just for this auction, allowed almost the
fourteen-fold of the starting price of € 45.000 for Richard Ziegler‘s “Die Polizei“ (lot 65). He honored the implied ménage à trois between the artist, his cousin and an unknown beauty with a result of € 610.000*. Thus he did not only stand his ground against all other bidders in the auction room, but
also against written bids and numerous phone bidders from both Germany and abroad. On top, he
made for the auction’s sharpest increase and even a new world record price***.

The ample range of works by Gabriele Münter were almost entirely sold. The top position is occupied
by a “Landschaft am Meer“ (lot 9) from 1919, which had conquered the heart of a private collector
from Southern Germany. Neither the auction room nor four vehement phone bidders could stop him.
He can now call the composition which evokes Southern French impressions his own for a result of
€ 329.000* (starting price: € 80.000). With a result of € 317.000* (starting price: € 180.000) the
“Landschaft mit Haus in Oberau“ (lot 32) is just slightly behind. Another private collector from
Southern Germany acquired the impressive oil painting with a written bid that still had quite some
bidding power left.

Cubic interleaved forms, appealingly executed in form of a “Landschaft mit Häusern“ (lot 46) on hard
fibre board by László Moholy-Nagy in 1919, went to Northern Germany for € 250.000* with an
estimate of € 140.000-180.000.

A hot bidding skirmish broke out about Conrad Felixmüller‘s “Tiggaren, der Bettler“ (lot 68). The
watercolor and gouache work from 1924 eventually went to a Greek collector in the auction room for
€ 226.000*. Phone bidders from Germany and England had to draw the shortest straw.

Besides four India ink works by Lyonel Feininger, works by August Macke (lot 8, starting price: €
20.000, result: € 55.000*), Christian Rohlfs (lot 56, starting price: € 28.000, result: € 49.000*) and
Wilhelm Thöny (lot 3, starting price: € 12.000, result: € 44.000*) also made for remarkable results.

Post War/Contemporary Art

The list of results in this section is led by Martin Kippenberger‘s triptych “Kleiner Verkehr
(Kreuzung Hauptstraße-Gerwigstraße, St. Georgen. Nach Witzleben links. Capri Nr. 8.)“ from 1981/82
(lot 149), which went to a private collector from Israel for a result of € 354.000* (starting price:
€ 290.000). Additionally, the artist was also successfully represented with two collages (lot 196, starting price: € 25.000, result: € 56.000* as well as lot 191, starting price: € 30.000, result: € 45.000*) and an oil painting (lot 112, starting price: € 25.000, result: € 30.000*).

A collector from Monaco managed to curb the bidding frenzy of his competitors with an offer of
€ 220.000*. Thus he won the race for Günther Uecker‘s “Weißer Schrei“ (lot 115) and doubled the
starting price of € 120.000. However, his written bid for “Feld“ (lot 109), another work by the same
artist, remained without success. An art dealer in the auction room won this race with a result of
€ 116.000*.

Works by Gerhard Richter also made for some excitement in the auction room. Besides the
cibachrome print “Onkel Rudi“ (lot 186, starting price: € 14.000, result: € 25.000*) the work “Sich
Ankleidende“ (lot 103, starting price: € 140.000, result: € 166.000*) was also quite popular. While the
first went to a private collector from Berlin, the latter is now in possession of a collector from Vienna.
The parquet picture “Grün-Blau-Rot“ (lot 151, starting price: € 60.000) was sold to Singapore for a
result of € 128.000*.

Just as popular was Johann Georg Müller‘s “Maskerade“ (lot 176), which had been estimated
€ 90.000-120.000. Much sought-after by particularly German art lovers, eventually the large-format oil
painting from 1971 went to a collector from Rhineland for a result of € 140.000*.

Two Austrian artists aroused the interest of their fellow countryman. Accordingly, half a dozen written
bids and 14 phones were competing for Wolfgang Hollegha‘s untitled oil painting from 1971 (lot
203), which eventually climbed to € 50.000* and went to a lady from Vienna in the auction room. With
€ 48.000 Max Weiler‘s egg tempera- and pencil work “Heitere Wolke“ (lot 201) brought in almost the
same amount and went, as expected, to Austria as well.

Objects unsold in the auction can be purchased in the post auction sale up until early January 2010.
Lists of auction results are available by phone under +49 (0)89-55244-0.

* The result is the hammer price + 25 percent buyer’s premium for objects up to € 25.000
The result is the hammer price - + 22 percent buyer’s premium for objects above € 25.001
The result is the hammer price - + 20 percent buyer’s premium for objects above € 500.001
** Unlike other German auction houses Ketterer Kunst holds it auction season on several days, which is reflected by the overall result of € 13,5 million* for autumn 2010
*** Source: www.artnet.com

Since it was founded in 1954, Ketterer Kunst has been firmly established in the front ranks of auction houses dealing in art and rare books, with its headquarters in Munich and a branch in Hamburg. Gallery rooms in Berlin as well as representatives in Heidelberg and Krefeld have contributed substantially to the company's success. Ketterer Kunst has further rounded off its portfolio with the prestigious Ernest Rathenau Verlag, New York/Munich. In addition, exhibitions, special theme and charity auctions as well as online auctions are regular events at Ketterer Kunst.