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SOTHEBY’S introduces auctions in Germany
- 12. August 2021
With exhibitions and sales orchestrated from the new magnificent headquarters in Cologne: PALAIS OPPENHEIM | Opening auction for Modern & Contemporary Art, September 10 – 17, 2021
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 later this year. This makes Sotheby’s the only international auction house that will hold auctions in Germany and thus builds on the company’s more than 50-year history in Germany.
Cologne – a city at the center of a region with one of the highest concentrations of industry, capital and collectors in Europe – will be Sotheby’s new headquarters in Germany. The beautiful new premises that Sotheby’s will occupy there – a former palace with a range of sumptuous rooms offering sweeping views of the Rhine through a generously designed terrace – will provide the perfect backdrop for exhibitions of artworks and luxury goods and encompass the whole Spectrum of Sotheby’s auction and private sale offerings. The move will make Cologne Sotheby’s sixth auction location in Europe, alongside London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich and Milan, and Sotheby’s new headquarters in Germany.
The auctions hosted by Germany will cover a wide range of works of art – from modern & contemporary art to design and photography to luxury items. Three auctions have been confirmed for 2021, for which acquisitions in Germany and neighboring countries will be cataloged by Sotheby’s competent team of experts on site and offered for sale via Sotheby’s extensive online channels.
The opening 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 in the fields of Impressionism, Modernism, Post-War and Contemporary Art – areas that are important for German collectors have long been important. Works by artists such as Otto Piene, Markus Lüpertz, Rudolf Jahns, Adolf Fleischmann, Walter Stöhrer and Joneone are offered with estimates of 3,000 to 300,000 euros. A second auction in this category will follow in February 2022.
967Impsut_bsthd_01 MAX PECHSTEIN Herbst Schatten (Autumn shade) MAX PECHSTEIN Herbst Schatten 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 auctioned before), complemented by renowned national and international artists working in the fields of painting, drawing, Sculpture, printmaking & multiples, photography and design work. An independent curator – a person known for his/her expertise in the relevant profession – will curate each auction. The estimated prices have been chosen in such a way that both young collectors and established connoisseurs looking for new discoveries will be delighted.
Another autumn auction will be dedicated to the wide range of luxury items, such as jewellery, watches, vintage handbags and sneakers. In the future, curated auctions (sales that address specific themes or media in the context of wider artistic developments), single-owner sales (sales dedicated to the collections of passionate collectors), as well as the possibility of private sales (private sales) and sales exhibitions will also be offered .
Another autumn auction will be dedicated to the wide range of luxury items, such as jewellery, watches, vintage handbags and sneakers. Curated auctions (sales that address specific themes or media in the context of wider artistic developments), single-owner sales (sales dedicated to collections by passionate collectors), as well as the possibility of private sales and sales exhibitions will also be offered in the future .
Sebastian Fahey, Managing Director, Sotheby's EMEA:
“Germany has always been an epicenter for exciting artistic developments, with a dedicated collecting community, so we are very excited to advance our business in this country. Our new headquarters will enable us both to welcome and advise collectors locally and to serve our customers from all over Northern Europe better than ever before. And as the only international auction house offering auctions in Germany, we are well positioned to leverage our global network of specialists and broad client base to raise interest in these auctions on a truly international level. This new commitment and the strengthening of the Sotheby’s team in Germany underscores our long-term commitment to invest here and grow our business in the fine arts and luxury sectors, both in auction and private sales.”
ALEXEJ VON JAWLENSKY Still life: Blue-violet sound (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 important 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, at the heart of the art world in this region and in a city surrounded by one of the highest concentrations of contemporary and modern art collectors and institutions in Europe. We hope that the Palais will be an attraction not only for collectors in Germany, but also for our customers in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and beyond. We can’t wait to open our doors.”
At the same time, Eva Donnerhack, art historian, expert in Impressionist & Modern Art, will be responsible for the auctions in Germany as Head of Sales, while the renowned art historian and expert in contemporary art, Barbara Guarnieri, will join Sotheby’s from July 5 as head of the Cologne office will. In addition, Dr. Princess Katharina zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who began her career at Sotheby’s in Prague, Czech Republic, in 1993 and has been successfully managing the Hamburg office since 2003, will take over the management of the Munich office in addition to her previous position and will split her time between Hamburg and Munich and supported by their reinforced team.
MORE BACKGROUND THE PALAIS OPPENHEIM, COLOGNE
Palais Oppenheim, Sotheby’s new home in Cologne, is a magnificent villa built in 1908 on Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer in the Bayenthal district.*
Beginning this summer, Sotheby’s will occupy the Palais’ spacious 627㎡ Bel Étage and its 256㎡ Terrace, providing the ideal setting for welcoming customers, hosting exhibitions, and evaluating art and luxury items. Exhibitions throughout the year will feature not only the art offered at 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 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 Composition with black vertical signed W Dexel and dated 66 (lower right); signed W Dexel, dated 66 and titled Composition with black vertical (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 worldwide demand for German and Austrian paintings, to the legendary Castle auctions, which featured in the auction of the works of art 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, most notably 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 was auctioned, a record for a work of art at the time. Other important names in the list of German collections are Helga and Walther Lauffs, Lenz Schönberg, Dürckheim, Gunter Sachs, the collection of the Bernheimer family, SØR Rusche or most recently from the estate of Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher.
To this day, German collectors are essential to Sotheby’s business, being listed in the top 10 countries most actively buying and selling at Sotheby’s auctions over the past three years. As online sales have grown exponentially over the last year, hitting record levels and attracting many new entrants, so has an ever-expanding pool of German buyers embraced the online format: in 2020, 40% of German bidders were new at Sotheby’s, while the number of German shoppers in online sales tripled.
*Sotheby’s has been in Cologne since 1982.
The Sotheby's expert team in Germany
Eva Donnerhack, Head of Sales in Germany, based in Cologne
As an expert in Impressionism & Modern Art, Eva Donnerhack has been based in Germany since 2015 and has worked in Sotheby’s worldwide branches for more than 15 years, including as co-head of the daily auctions for Impressionism & Modern Art in London. As an expert and provenance researcher, she was very involved in establishing German and Austrian artists on the international market and has made a decisive contribution 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 at 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 Laundry (Vorstadt II), commissioned by the Leopold Museum in Vienna, 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 from July 5, 2021
As a proven expert in contemporary art and recognized market insider, Barbara Guarnieri has been active in the art world since 1998. In her almost 25-year career, she worked as an art expert for a German art insurance company, in a managerial position at a renowned Swiss auction house and in responsible positions 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 lovers thanks to her work as an art expert on the antiques TV show Lieb & Teuer on NDR.
Joelle Romba, Head of Berlin office, Expert Contemporary Art, Co-Head of the “NOW” auction
Before returning to Sotheby’s in 2015, Joelle Romba worked as an independent art consultant for private collectors, art lovers and corporations. As a passionate collector of contemporary art and with her devotion to art in general, her profound expertise spanning both post-war and current contemporary art and design, she is perfectly positioned to partner with Eva Donnerhack to launch the upcoming cross-category and curated Online – conduct auction “NOW” in November this year.
Bastienne Leuthe, Senior Expert Contemporary Art, Head of Contemporary Art, Germany
Since Bastienne Leuthe joined Sotheby’s in 2005, she has divided her working hours between London, Paris, New York and the German locations, where she maintains close contacts with important private collectors and customers of contemporary art, whom she uses her in-depth knowledge and passion for art to bring to the table Connection with their extensive experience in all aspects of buying and selling advises.
One of the milestones in her professional career is the establishment of ZERO Kunst on the international art market with works by post-war pioneers such as Günther Uecker, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, etc. Bastienne Leuthe has particular expertise in the art of Gerhard Richter, George Baselitz, Albert Oehlen, Sigmar Polke and the artists of the Informel and is consulted worldwide for their assessment of German art, which gives them an extraordinary overview of the market.
Drs. Herbert van Mierlo, Senior Valuation Specialist, Fine and Decorative Arts, based in Cologne
As a valuation expert, Herbert van Mierlo acquires art and objects for Sotheby’s international auctions and is responsible for general valuation and customer management in Germany. During his time at Sotheby’s, which dates back to 1992, he has become a maestro when it comes to finding treasures from all over Germany. Herbert has also been an expert on some of Sotheby’s major German house sales, including the Royal House of Hanover art auction in October 2005, and was instrumental in the successful series of Noble sales in Amsterdam between 2001 and 2008, as well as other major singles Owner Sales.
Christine Senft, Cataloguer Impressionist and Modern & Contemporary Art Auctions, Germany, based in Cologne
Christine Senft, who obtained her Master’s degree in Art and Economics 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 has been based in Cologne to support the team as a cataloger 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 have close ties to Germany and bring with them a deep understanding and great appreciation for the country’s art, the importance of which they have long advocated. They include: Helena Newman (Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe & Worldwide Head of Impressionist & Modern Art), who pioneered the introduction of dedicated auctions for German and Austrian art as well as being instrumental in the groundbreaking sale of Giacometti’s Walking Man for 104 million $ was involved, Martin Klosterfelde (Head of Private Sales, Europe), George Gordon (Co-Chairman of 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 experts*inn 19th Century Continental Pictures)
In the run-up to the September auction, Sotheby’s will announce further details on the content of the opening auction in the summer.
For more information, see:
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