MUNICH.- It truly is an array of museum-quality art that is going to be called up in what probably will be the most spectacular auction at Ketterer Kunst with works from the 19th to the 21st century in Munich on December 9/10. Germany’s number one auctioneer for art from after 1900 presents select gems along with scores of contemporary documents from the renowned collection of the entrepreneur and expert of Expressionism, professor Hermann Gerlinger, who will donate the total proceeds to charity.

“The Hermann Gerlinger Collection is at least as fascinating as the collector himself. The passion, the keen eye and the spirit with which professor Gerlinger committed himself to the Brücke artists is just as remarkable as his ability to adapt and his consistency“, says Robert Ketterer, auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst. He explains: “When Gerlinger realized that his heart's desire to present the collection to the public in its entirety and to make it accessible for research in a museum, would not come true, he decided at the age of 91 to sell the almost 1000 works for the benefit of three charities at auction. All I can say is: Respect!“

Following the excellent White Glove Sale this past spring, in which the first
45 works from “The Gerlinger Collection – Brücke Artists (SHG)“ were entirely sold with sharp increases, the international art market is waiting for the second tranche. A total of 90 works are offered in the two extra catalogs “Die Brücke – Expressiv!“ and “Es begann mit einer Idee – Die Brücke“.




Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s “Das blaue Mädchen in der Sonne“ is a key work in the one-of-a-kind collection and a masterpiece of Expressionism. Today paintings of this quality are almost exclusively museum-owned. Now this solitaire in the artist’s creation, which is particularly captivating for the reduced and powerful colors, might be available for the estimate of € 2,000,000-3,000,000.

Other major Kirchner works in the collection are, along with the “Hockende“ (estimate: € 700,000- 900,000), one of the few preserved sculptures by the artist and an absolute rarity on the international art market, the painting “Fehmarnküste mit Leuchtturm“ from 1913 (estimate: € 700,000-900,000) and the 1910 oil painting “Im Wald“ (estimate: € 600,000-800,000). While the first is a document from the important creative period in Berlin, the latter is a prime example of the accomplished “Brücke“ style, a highlight from the artist group’s important time at the Moritzburg Ponds.

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff’s “Rote Düne“ from 1913 will enter the race with an estimate of
€ 800,000-1,200,000. In luminous colors and with a life-affirming vitality, the nude painting, at that point the artist’s most clearly defined formal expression, was shown a year after it was made at Museum Folkwang, that was located in Hagen at that time and was the then leading institution for contemporary art.

Other Schmidt-Rottluff highlights in the Gerlinger Collection are, next to the 1912 oil painting “Lesende (Else Lasker-Schüler)“, which captures this dazzling avant-garde personality in a Cubist homage and is estimated at € 700,000-900,000, the two paintings “Sitzende im Grünen“ from 1910 and “Mondschein“ from 1919, both estimated at € 600,000-800,000.

The third player on the “Brücke“ team was Erich Heckel, who is represented with, among others, his 1909 “Landschaft bei Rom“ and the “Figuren am Strand“ from 1912. Both works look back on an important exhibition history and have been estimated at
€ 400,000-600,000 each.

With Heckel’s poplar figure “Stehende“ from 1920, it is the first time ever that a wooden sculpture by the artist is offered on the market – an absolute rarity. Both he and Kirchner took far more radical approaches in sculpting than they did in painting, creating inimitable plastic works at the beginning of the 20th century. Five of the seven sculptures that have survived are in the estate or museum- owned, while the present one could change owners for € 600,000- 800,000.

Learn more about the collector and the person professor Hermann Gerlinger in a very private half hour interview with the German star host Günther Jauch on the Ketterer Kunst-YouTube-Channel and on www.kettererkunst.com.

Next to “The Gerlinger Collection – Brücke Artists”, the section of MODERN ART offers Ferdinand Hodler’s “Kastanienallee bei Biberist“ (estimate: € 1,400,000-1,800,000), a work by the most popular painter of Swiss modernism, as well as highlights from big names like Emil Nolde (“Meer (D)“, estimate: € 800,000-1,200,000) and Max Beckmann (“Holzsäger im Wald“, estimate: € 600,000 – 800,000). Other fascinating works come from, among others, Hans (Jean) Arp, Lovis Corinth, Paul Gauguin, Karl Hofer, Georg Kolbe, Max Liebermann, Gabriele Münter, Christian Rohlfs, Egon Schiele and Hermann Max Pechstein.

The section of CONTEMPORARY ART includes big names like Georg Baselitz with his “Hofteich“ (estimate: € 700,000-900,000) and Anselm Kiefer with “Die Ordnung der Engel” (estimate: € 300,000-400,000), but also Günther Förg, Katharina Grosse, Martin Kippenberger, Karin Kneffel, Konrad Lueg, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Günther Uecker and Gerhard Richter, as well as international artists: Richard Serra is represented with “Corner Prop No. 6 (Leena and Tuula)“, estimated at € 600,000-800,000, it is the sculptor’s first unique piece offered on the global auction market since 2016. Another highlight is “He Kept Following Me“ from David Wojnarovicz (estimate: € 350,000- 450,000). The international array is completed by, among others, Tony Cragg, Keith Haring, Sol LeWitt, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Stanley Whitney, who celebrates an auction premiere in Germany.