Results of the opening auction at Sotheby’s in Cologne

The expectations were well met, but not exceeded: Max Pechstein and Arnulf Rainer are responsible for the top in the opening Modern & Contemporary Art auction at Sotheby’s in Cologne. Above all, collectors from Germany and Austria are taking hold.

L.Light and dark: With the seasonal landscape “Autumn Shades” in strong berry and leafy tones, created in 1921, Max Pechstein supported himself at the head of the 66 lots in the opening auction of modern and contemporary art at Sotheby’s in Cologne. Estimated at 120,000 to 180,000 euros, the painting achieved a hammer price of 190,000. The bidders in the online auction had to forego the previously announced “kitchen garden in Wannsee to the west” by Max Liebermann (tax 300,000 / 400,000 euros): the oil painting from 1920 was no longer listed in the catalog.

Arnulf Rainer’s monumental, powerfully painted “Cross” from 1987/88 (estimate 80,000 / 120,000) became the top lot of contemporary art with 180,000 euros. The small-format drawing “Untitled” by Joseph Beuys remained in line with expectations: the hammer at 26,000 euros (26,000 / 36,000). Walter Stöhrer’s abstract “head-torso I” has a record auction price of 40,000 euros (35,000) for a work by this painter.

61 percent of the sold lots exceeded their estimated value. Alexej von Jawlensky’s oil painting “Evening in Reichertshausen” (130,000 / 180,000) as well as works by Jirí David, Rudolf Jahns and Gottfried Honegger with prices in the four-digit or rarely five-digit range that beginners with locken can . With its opening offer, which could be viewed on site, Sotheby’s mainly found buyers from Germany and Austria. The fact that EVERY third party is a new customer and the total result of 1.9 million euros is within the estimate of 1.5 to 2.1 should reinforce the auction house’s commitment in Germany.