MUNICH, Germany – Karl & Faber’s summer auctions on Thursday, July 16, features top works of modern and contemporary art. The Munich art auction house will conduct two live auctions: Modern Art (from 11 a.m./5 a.m. Eastern), followed by Contemporary art (from 2 p.m./8 a.m. Eastern). Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
The offering includes works by internationally renowned artists – from Gabriele Münter and Wassily Kandinsky to Picasso and Dadamaino, Katharina Grosse and Eduardo Chillida.
“Painting portraits is the boldest and most difficult, the most intellectual, the most extreme task for the artist” – and for the artist herself: this quote is from Gabriele Münter. An unusually large-format children’s portrait (above) of the famous expressionist will be offered by Karl & Faber on 16 July: the Portrait of Gustl Blab (circa 1908, estimated price: €150,000-€250,000).
Women in art is a major theme in the summer sales of the Munich art auction house. “Through the works in our comprehensive offer, you can see how their image and role in the art world has changed over time,” explains Sheila Scott, Head of Modern Art and Managing Director of Karl & Faber.
In the field of modern art, for example, there is Pierre-Paul Girieud, who created a homage to his female painter colleague with his Portrait d’Émilie Charmy (lot 400, 1908, estimated price €40,000-€50,000). Seventy years later, Marc Chagall was still portraying his wife, Vava, as a classical muse in his painting Intérieur jaune (below, 1978-80, estimate: €280,000-€350,000).
Three of the currently most successful German women artists are represented in the contemporary art sale, including Jorinde Voigt with Perm I, II and III (lot 845, 2007). The triptych is of great importance to her. This is testified to by her detailed comments on this early work. Estimate: €80,000-€120.000.
Lot 844 is Katharina Grosse’s acrylic sculpture Untitled (2015/80016L), a sculpture that she presented as part of her installation at the Venice Biennale in 2015. Estimate: €20,000-€35,000. Currently, a large installation by this artist is on view in and around Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin.
Isa Genzken is the third artist in the group. The four-part work Untitled (Robot Print), (lot 846, 1978) is from her early work period and is a graphic rendering of her ellipsoids. The computer print was created on the occasion of one of her first solo exhibitions in the Bremerhaven Cabinet of Contemporary Art. Estimate €20.000-€25.000.
Finally, the U.S. artist Kathryn Andrews takes up a feminist view. She combines ready-mades with found objects. This is also the case with Clown Cabinet (lot 847, 2012), where bright silk ties and a colorful porcelain plate correlate with an old filing cabinet. Estimate: €50,000-€60,000.
In times like these we can hardly wait to travel again. Works created under the Southern sun give us a sense of Vorfreude, of anticipation. Pablo Picasso’s Homme à l’agneau, mangeur de pastèque et flûtiste (lot 432, 1967), for example, was created in France. In the chalk drawing, Picasso places a flute player and a nude carrying a lamb next to a man eating a slice of watermelon, often found in the work of the Spanish artist as a symbol of Mediterranean tradition, summer, heat and sensuality. Estimate: €250,000-€350.000.
Raoul Dufy created his Promenade des Anglais à Nice (lot 429) around 1925/30 under the blue skies of the Côte d’Azur. The bright beach promenade bordered by stately villas and palm trees provides an enchanting view. Estimate: €100.000-€150.000.
The sculptor Alberto Giacometti, known for his extremely long, slender figures, comes from the south of Switzerland. He is represented here with the pencil drawing Portrait de James Lord (lot 425, 1954/1960). Estimate: €65,000-€85,000.
When Max Liebermann painted the Allee im Tiergarten with strollers, a cab and a tram (lot 403, 1925-27), he was almost 80 years old. At that time he “contented” himself with Berlin subjects, but his painterly mastery in playing with light is still unmistakable. Estimate: €250,000-€350,000.
In contrast, Wassily Kandinsky decided in 1902 to move from the city (Munich) to the “Blue Country.” He painted Kochel – mountain landscape with fir trees (Lot 406) in the summer of that year. Estimate: €200,000-€300.000.
Serge Poliakoff was inspired by Kandinsky when he met the founder of the Blue Rider in Paris. From then on he increasingly used pure color. Bleu vert (lot 434, 1962) belongs to these compositions, which have a thoroughly meditative effect on the viewer. Estimate: €120.000-€150.000.
Henry Moore’s two seated figures against a wall (lot 440, 1960) also radiate a meditative calm. The combination of figures with an architectural element is typical for this late phase in his work. He sees these elements as providing an independent spatial effect and a better presence. The estimate: €120,000-$150,000.
The offer of contemporary art from local shores also includes four big names.
Hard fibre is the material that characterizes the work of Imi Knoebel. In his early phase in the 1960s, he used it in works situated somewhere between painting and object. The present hardboard painting with phosphorescent lacquer Untitled (lot 831, 1984) is reminiscent of a monochrome panel painting. Estimate: €100.000-€150.000.
Gerhard Richter’s works are among the most expensive by any living artist. €70,000-€90,000 is the estimate for the oil painting Untitled (lot 832, 1989), an experiment in gray and white.
For details contact Karl & Faberr at info@karlundfaber.de or 089 22 18 65.
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