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SOTHEBY'S introduces auctions in Germany
Sotheby's new headquarters and selling location - Palais Oppenheim, Cologne
(Credit: Larbig & Mortag Immobilien GmbH)
Frankfurt am Main/London, June 18, 2021: Sotheby's will be holding auctions in Germany this year. This will make Sotheby's the only international auction house to hold auctions in Germany, continuing the company's more than 50-year history in Germany.
Cologne - a city at the center of a region with one of the highest densities of industry, capital and collectors in Europe - will be the new headquarters of Sotheby's in Germany. The beautiful new premises that Sotheby's will occupy there - a former palace with a series of magnificent rooms offering sweeping views of the Rhine via a generously designed terrace - will provide the perfect backdrop for exhibitions of works of art and luxury items and will encompass the full range of Sotheby's auction and private sale offerings. With the move, Cologne will become Sotheby's sixth auction location in Europe, alongside London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich and Milan, and Sotheby's new business headquarters in Germany.
The auctions hosted by Germany will cover a wide range of artworks - from Modern & Contemporary Art to Design, Photography and Luxury items. Three auctions are confirmed for 2021, which will be sourced in Germany and neighboring countries, cataloged by Sotheby's expert local team and offered for sale through Sotheby's extensive online channels.
The inaugural Modern & Contemporary Art auction (online, September 10-17, 2021) will offer paintings, drawings and sculptures by the most sought-after artists from Germany and abroad from the fields of Impressionism, Modernism, Post-War and Contemporary Art - areas that have long been of importance to German collectors. Works by artists such as Otto Piene, Markus Lüpertz, Rudolf Jahns, Adolf Fleischmann, Walter Stöhrer and Jone will be offered with estimated prices ranging from 3,000 to 300,000 euros. A second auction in this category will follow in February 2022.
967Impsut_bsthd_01 MAX PECHSTEIN Herbstschatten (Autumn shade) MAX PECHSTEIN Autumn shade Oil on canvas, 1921 Estimate: € 120,000 - 180,000
In November, Sotheby's will then offer a cross-category "NOW" auction, featuring works by emerging young and innovative artists (many of whom have never been represented in an auction before), complemented by renowned national and international artists working in the fields of painting, drawing, sculpture, prints & multiples, photography and design. An independent curator - a person known for his/her expertise in the respective profession - will curate each auction. The estimated prices have been chosen so that both young collectors and established connoisseurs in search of new discoveries will be delighted.
Another auction in the fall will be dedicated to a wide range of luxury items such as jewelry, watches, vintage handbags and sneakers. In the future, curated auctions (sales that address specific themes or media in the context of broader artistic developments), single-owner sales (sales dedicated to collections of passionate collectors), as well as the possibility of private sales and sales exhibitions will also be offered.
Sebastian Fahey, Managing Director, Sotheby's EMEA:
ALEXEJ VON JAWLENSKY Still life: Blau-Violetter Klang (Still - life: Blue-violet sound) signed with the artist's initials (lower left) and dated 36 (lower right); inscribed (on the reverse) oil on linen-finish paper laid down on cardboard laid down on masonite 17.2 by 12.7 cm., 6¾ by 5 in. Executed in April 1936 Estimate: € 30.000 - 50.000
Dr. Franka Haiderer, Chairwoman, Head of Germany, Head of Business Development EMEA and Asia:
"Germany has long been an important source of major works in Sotheby's international auctions, and it is time to develop the country into a Sotheby's sales location as well. Our new central office will be located in Cologne, in the heart of the art world in this region and in a city surrounded by one of the highest densities of collectors and institutions for contemporary and modern art in Europe. We hope that the Palais will become a center of attraction not only for collectors in Germany, but also for our clients in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and beyond. We can't wait to open our doors."
At the same time, Eva Donnerhack, art historian and expert in Impressionist & Modern Art, will be responsible for auctions in Germany as Head of Sales, while the renowned art historian and expert in contemporary art, Barbara Guarnieri, will join Sotheby's as Head of the Cologne office from July 5. In addition, Dr. Katharina Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who began her career at Sotheby's in Prague, Czech Republic, in 1993 and has successfully headed the Hamburg office since 2003, has taken over the management of the Munich office in addition to her previous position and will divide her time between Hamburg and Munich, supported by her strengthened team.
FURTHER BACKGROUND THE PALAIS OPPENHEIM, COLOGNE
Palais Oppenheim, the new home of Sotheby's in Cologne, is a magnificent villa built in 1908 on Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer in the Bayenthal district*.
From this summer, Sotheby's will move into the spacious 627㎡ Bel Étage of the Palais and its 256㎡ terrace, providing the ideal setting to receive clients, host exhibitions and value art and luxury items. The exhibitions throughout the year will not only feature the art offered in the Cologne auctions, but also works and luxury items available for immediate purchase and private sale. Sotheby's will also have locations in Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt am Main.
*The building was recently renovated by RHWZ Architekten from Hamburg under the direction of Stefan Wirth and Jan Kaundinya. Sotheby's would like to thank Larbig & Mortag Immobilien GmbH for brokering the sale of Palais Oppenheim / (Credit: Larbig & Mortag Immobilien GmbH)
RUPPRECHT GEIGER OE 244 signed on the reverse oil on canvas 90 by 80 cm., 35½ by 31½ in. Executed in 1957. estimate: €30.000 - 40.000
WALTER DEXEL Komposition mit schwarzer Senkrechte signed W Dexel and dated 66 (lower right); signed W Dexel, dated 66 and titled Komposition mit schwarzer Senkrechte (on the reverse) tempera and gouache on paper 65 by 50 cm., 25½ by 19½ in. Executed in 1966. estimate: € 18.000 -25.000
Sotheby's History in Germany
For more than half a century, Sotheby's has been at the forefront of stimulating global interest in German art. The story begins in 1969 with the opening of the first Sotheby's office in Germany, in Munich,* and leads through the sales of the 1980s, which boosted the worldwide demand for German and Austrian paintings, to the legendary Schloss auctions, culminating in the auction of the artworks of the Royal House of Hanover at Marienburg Castle in 2005.
Over the years, art from major German collections has made headlines around the world, the most famous of which is probably the auction of Alberto Giacometti's sculpture "L'Homme qui marche I" from the Commerzbank AG collection in Frankfurt, which was sold in London in 2010 for 104.3 million dollars, a record for a work of art at the time. Other important names in the list of German collections include Helga and Walther Lauffs, Lenz Schönberg, Dürckheim, Gunter Sachs, the Bernheimer family collection, SØR Rusche and, most recently, from the estate of Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher.
To date, German collectors have been indispensable to Sotheby's business, ranking among the top 10 countries most actively buying and selling in Sotheby's auctions over the past three years. Just as online sales have grown exponentially over the past year, achieving record results and attracting many new participants, so too has an ever-growing pool of German buyers embraced the online format: In 2020, 40% of German bidders were new to Sotheby's, while the number of German buyers in online sales tripled.
*Sotheby's has been in Cologne since 1982.
The Sotheby's team of experts in Germany
Eva Donnerhack, Head of Sales in Germany, based in Cologne
As an expert in Impressionist & Modern Art, Eva Donnerhack has been based in Germany since 2015 and has worked in Sotheby's worldwide offices for more than 15 years, including as Co-Head of the daily auctions for Impressionist & Modern Art in London. As an expert and provenance researcher, she has been instrumental in establishing German and Austrian artists on the international market and has contributed significantly to the resolution and success of many high-profile restitution cases. These include the first official private restitution: the sale of Gustav Klimt's Church in Cassone at Sotheby's in London (February 2010) for £26.9 million, an auction record for a landscape by the artist at the time; and Egon Schiele's painting Houses with Colorful Linen (Vorstadt II), commissioned by the Leopold Museum in Vienna, which sold in London (June 2011) for £24.7 million, an auction record for the artist.
Barbara Guarnieri, newly appointed Head of Sotheby's in Cologne as of July 5, 2021
As a proven expert in contemporary art and recognized market expert, Barbara Guarnieri has been active in the art world since 1998. In her almost 25-year career, she has worked as an art expert for a German art insurance company, in a management position at a renowned Swiss auction house and in responsible functions for a well-known German auction house. Her tasks included the expansion of market activities in various European countries and the implementation of online auctions. She is also a familiar face to many art enthusiasts thanks to her work as an art expert on the antiques TV program Lieb & Teuer on NDR.
Joelle Romba, Head of Berlin office, Expert Contemporary Art, Co-Head of the "NOW" auction
Bastienne Leuthe, Senior Expert Contemporary Art, Head of Contemporary Art, Germany
Since joining Sotheby's in 2005, Bastienne Leuthe has divided her time between London, Paris, New York and the German offices, where she maintains close contacts with major private collectors and contemporary art clients, advising them on all aspects of buying and selling with her in-depth knowledge and passion for art combined with her extensive experience.
One of the milestones of her professional career is the establishment of ZERO art on the international art market with works by post-war pioneers such as Günther Uecker, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and others. Bastienne Leuthe has particular expertise in the art of Gerhard Richter, George Baselitz, Albert Oehlen, Sigmar Polke and the artists of the Informel movement and is consulted worldwide for her assessment of German art, giving her an exceptional overview of the market.
Drs. Herbert van Mierlo, Senior Valuation Specialist, Fine and Decorative Arts, based in Cologne
Christine Senft, Cataloguer Impressionist and Modern & Contemporary Art Auctions, Germany, based in Cologne
Christine Senft, who holds a Master's degree in Art and Business from Sotheby's Institute of Art in London, has worked as an assistant to Bastienne Leuthe and Martin Klosterfelde in the Contemporary Art department at Sotheby's in London for the past three years. Since May 2021 she is based in Cologne to support the team as Cataloguer for Impressionist and Modern & Contemporary Art.
The competent German Sotheby's team on site is rounded off by a network of international experts who, thanks to their long-standing relationships with
collectors and art lovers are closely connected to Germany and have a deep understanding and appreciation of the country's art, the importance of which they have long championed. They include: Helena Newman (Chairman of Sotheby's Europe & Worldwide Head of Impressionist & Modern Art), who both pioneered the introduction of dedicated auctions for German and Austrian art and was instrumental in the ground-breaking auction of Giacometti's "Walking Man" for $104m. $ 104 million, Martin Klosterfelde (Head of Private Sales, Europe), George Gordon (Co-Chairman Sotheby's Worldwide Old Master Paintings & Drawings Department), Andrea Jungmann (Managing Director Austria, Hungary & Poland), Alexandra Christl (Expert Impressionist & Modern Art), Dr. Bernhard Brandstaetter (Expert Impressionist & Modern Art), Claude Piening and Tessa Kostrzewa (both Expert 19th Century Continental Pictures)
In the run-up to the September auction, Sotheby's will announce further details on the content of the opening sale in the summer.
Further information can be found at:
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