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![“Mädchen mit blauem Schal” [“Girl with a Blue Scarf”], painted by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff in 1909.](/images/articles/8/e/8ee037ff58e6e7083805af8df7f78160_m.jpg) |
| “Mädchen mit blauem Schal” [“Girl with a Blue Scarf”], painted by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff in 1909. |
Munich, 5 June 2008, (kk) - The sum total of their ages is nearly 300 years: three ladies who ensured top prices at today’s Ketterer Kunst auction in Munich. While Heidi Klum has yet to pick her winner on television, “Mädchen mit blauem Schal” [“Girl with a Blue Scarf”], painted by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff in 1909, has already topped the charts. The watercolour fetched € 360 000*, a world record for a work on paper by this artist. Incredible as it may seem: not all that long ago this outstanding work was left on the shelf at another auction in Germany.
The overall auction proceeds amounted to € 4 000 000*. That figure was realised with nearly 70 per cent of lots sold.
Feminine wiles coupled with subtle eroticism secured Amedeo Modigliani’s “Cariatide” [“Caryatid”] first place at the auction and continuing residence in Germany. A collector nearly quadrupled the estimate by paying € 425.000*.
Red hair and red lips not only top the bill on German television; they also come first in the international art scene. One art lover could not be restrained when Emil Nolde’s “Frauenkopf mit rotem Haar” [“Portrait of a Lady with Red Hair”] was called. He bid up the watercolour portrait to € 210 000*.
The Top 5 at the Modern Art Auction
€ 425 000*
No. 155: Amedeo Modigliani - Caryatid
Estimate: € 120 000-150 000
€ 360 000*
No. 140: Karl Schmidt-Rottluff - Girl with a Blue Scarf
Estimate: € 150 000-200 000
€ 210 000*
No. 183: Emil Nolde - Portrait of a Lady with Red Hair
Estimate: € 150 000-250 000
€ 205 000*
No. 143: Heinrich Campendonk - Self-Portrait (Rural Impression)
Estimate: € 100 000-150 000
€ 200 000*
No. 186: Emil Nolde - Sea (with the Evening Sky)
Estimate: € 150 000-200 000
Another Emil Nolde watercolour on offer was “Meer (mit Abendhimmel)” [“Sea (with Evening Sky”]. It left the auctioneer’s lectern to adorn a German collection for € 200 000*.
Heinrich Campendonk’s “Selbstbildnis (Ländliche Impression)” [“Self-Portrait (Rural Impression”] (lot 143; estimate € 100 000-150 000) was honoured by a collector from southern Europe for € 205 000*. As recently as late last year the vendor had acquired it from another auction for an incredible € 14 000.
Another work that journeyed south was Oskar Schlemmer’s “Zwei Köpfe, einander zugewandt” [“Two Heads, Facing”: lot no. 175]. A collector parted with € 120 000* for it. Only a few months ago, he could have bought it from a Berlin auction house for just € 42 000.
More than honourable mention to the following:
Lot no. Artist (medium) Title Estimate Sale price
201 M. C. Escher (colour woodcut) Metamorphosis II € 90 000 € 108 000*
123 W. Morgner (oil on canvas) Crucifixion € 60 000 € 94 000*
161 K. Schmidt-Rottluff (watercolour) Rocky Island (Capri) € 50 000 € 90 000*
Post-auction sales of objects unsold at the auction run through 4 August 2008. For auction result lists please call 00 49 (0)89-55244-444. More information at www.kettererkunst.com.
* Sale price equals
Hammer price + 18 per cent surcharge on hammer prices over € 200 000 and
Hammer price + 20 per cent surcharge on hammer prices below € 200 000
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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 headquarters at the Prinz-Alfons Palais in Munich and a branch in Hamburg. Gallery rooms in Berlin and representatives in Heidelberg, Krefeld and New York have contributed crucially to our success. The portfolio has been rounded off by the acquisition of the renowned Ernest Rathenau Verlag, New York/Munich. In addition, exhibitions, special themed auctions, benefit auctions for charity and online auctions are regular events at Ketterer Kunst.