"After the excessive days are over, stability has once more gained a foothold on the art market. Quality objects make for great results", said Robert Ketterer, auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst. "There is an upward tendency", he adds with regards to the upcoming spring auctions. The lots of the auctions on 23 and 24 April 2010 will already delight the hearts of art lovers.

Thematic focal points will be on:

1. Modern Art
2. Post War/Contemporary Art<
3. Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century

on 1. Modern Art
This auction is headed by a real rarity: Otto Griebel‘s watercolor "Zwei Frauen" (Two women) was made in 1924 and will be called with an estimate of € 30 000-40 000. The work, which will also be on the cover of the catalog, did not only barely escape the burning of works by the artist that the National Socialists had confiscated in 1932, it also survived an allied air raid in 1945 in which Griebel lost his apartment and studio as well as most of his works to the flames.

With "Herbstlandschaft" and "Der rosa Krug" two typical watercolors by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, each with an estimate of € 10 000-15 000, will enter the race. The object "Bemalter Steinkopf mit weißer Nase" (Painted stone head with white nose) by the same artist is a real magnet of attraction. The gray-brown granite stone has been estimated at € 3 000-4 000.

Another interesting lot in the section of sculptures is by Otto Gutfreund. His bronze "Der Cellospieler" (Cello Player) will not only please music lovers. The estimate for this work with black patina, posthumously cast from presumably the original gypsum model, is at € 6 000-8 000.

Oskar Kokoschka executed his "Hygieia" in 1961, using color chalk for this drawing of a sculpture in the Athens National Museum. The artist’s confident stroke of the brush in combination with a classic motif of an ancient theme and an estimate of € 4 000-6 000 will surely make for brisk demand.

More than a dozen of pencil and chalk drawings by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, which will be called with estimates between € 900 and € 3 000, are definitely more than just worthwhile mentioning.

The offer is rounded of by appealing print art: Besides three lithographs in colors by Serge Poliakoff as well as Emil Nolde‘s etching and aquatint "Hugo del Caril" (estimate: € 4 000-5 000) the "Lithographie 'Blau'" by Wassily Kandinsky (estimate: € 5 000-7 000) as well as the chalk lithograph "Arbeiterfrau mit schlafendem Jungen" by Käthe Kollwitz from 1927 will enthuse the audience.

on 2: Post War/Contemporary Art

Walter Stöhrer‘s works are unique in the world of 20th century art, and three large-sized works by the important representative of the Informel will be called up in this section. Besides two mixed media works without title, it is particularly the painting "Cut Up IV" which will draw the attention. With an estimate of € 18 000-24 000, it radiates an intensive degree of energy in its size of 80.5 x 70.8 in. Only eleven works were made under the title "Cut Up", of which two are already in possession of German museums.

The acrylic work "Homage an Leonardo da Vinci" by Lambert Maria Wintersberger will enter the race with an estimate between € 8 000-12 000. The work with its spontaneous and powerful stroke of the brush is a good example of the artist’s painting skills. In formal terms, the depiction calls reminiscence of the gestures of Saint Jerome, the painting of the same name by Leonardo da Vinci, which is in possession of the Pinacoteca Vaticana today.

Besides a zestful gouache in black and white (estimate: € 6 000-8 000), that Karl Otto Götz executed on cardboard in 1958, Markus Prachensky’s dynamic work "Rouge sur noir", which was made the same year, will be called up at € 5 000-7 000. This painting’s center is dominated by a strong red, whereas color accents in blue and red inspirit Fritz Winter‘s painting without title from 1954. It has been estimated at € 5 000-7 000.

This section is rounded off by, among others, works by the following artists: Horst Antes, Georg Baselitz, Eduardo Chillida, Karl Fred Dahmen, Lucio Fontana, Damien Hirst, Horst Janssen, Robert Motherwell, Sigmar Polke, Neo Rauch, Emil Schumacher, Antoni Tàpies and Zao Wou-Ki.

on 3: Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century

The first auction day will be opened by the section of Old Masters and Art of the 19th century, headed by a painting of Eugen von Guérard from 1849, estimated at € 20 000-30 000. "Die Eremitage von St. Maria del Avocatella bei Neapel" (The Hermitage of St. Maria del Avocatella near Naples) counts among the classic depictions of southern Italian landscapes, which the artist successfully showed at academy exhibitions in Berlin, Leipzig and Lubeck.

A painting in warm shades of colors by Frits Thaulow will definitely make for some excitement in the auction room. The estimate for the oil painting "Dorfweg", presumably made in 1890, is at € 15 000-20 000.

The small-sized oil painting on wood "Beim Vorlesen" by Felix Schlesinger is an atmospheric genre piece. The rural idyll gives insight into family life in the countryside and will be called up with an estimate of € 5 000-7 000.

Besides almost a dozen of still lives of nature and plants by Christian Friedrich Gille, all originate from the collection of the Berlin littérateur and art dealer Walter Unus, three landscape watercolors by Edward Theodore Compton will also shine their light on this section of the auction.

Further works by Johann Georg von Dillis, Jean Bastien-Lepage and Karl Friedrich Schinkel will also be on offer. Among the high-quality graphic art will be works by Albrecht Dürer, Francisco de Goya, Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Georg Friedrich Schmidt.

Preview: showing selected works: 06 April 10 am-6 pm 07 April 10 am-8 pm 08 April 10 am-3 pm Ketterer Kunst, Am Meßberg 1, Hamburg 10-11 April 11 am-4 pm 12-14 April 11 am-7 pm 15 April 11 am-3 pm Ketterer Kunst, Fasanenstr. 70, Berlin Preview: all works: 17-18 April 11 am-5 pm 19-20 April 10 am-6 pm 21 April 10 am-8 pm 22 April 10 am-3 pm, later appointments only by arrangement Ketterer Kunst, Joseph-Wild-Str. 18, Munich

Auction dates:

23 April at 3 pm     Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century followed by Modern Art 24 April at 3 pm     Post War/Contemporary Art Ketterer Kunst, Joseph-Wild-Str. 18, Munich

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.

Press enquiries: Michaela Derra M.A. Phone: +49-(0)89-55244-152 (Fax: -177) email: m.derra@kettererkunst.de

Customer inquiries: Ketterer Kunst, Joseph-Wild-Str. 18 81829 Munich 81829 Phone: +49-(0)89-55244-444 (Fax: -177) email: infomuenchen@kettererkunst.de

www.kettererkunst.com