Hamburg(kk) - With overall sales proceeds amounting to € 1.8 million at the Modern Art & Post War auction on 27 and 28 October 2006, Ketterer Kunst landed the best results achieved in Hamburg in the over fifty years since the firm was founded. Overall proceeds from the "Ketterer Mini-auction" - most objects carried estimates ranging between € 1,000 and € 5,000 - exceeded the total estimate by more than 80 per cent.

Jörg Immendorff’s "Hutmuseum (Lamm)" ["Hat Museum (Lamb)"] led the nearly 1000 lots to fetch nearly € 50,000. The Greek collector who secured this work dating from 1992 by bidding on the telephone more than trebled the estimate of € 15,000.

The leap made by Hanne Darboven’s "2 K - 43 K 00" is perhaps even more breath-taking. Her 1970 pen and India ink drawing was bid up by a German private collection from an estimate of € 4000 to more than ten times that sum, outstripping a broad field of bidders from Italy, Greece and England, to fetch € 43,000.

Another success in the POST WAR division was Ernst Wilhelm Nay’s "Dans la campagne". A south German dealer bought this 1947 gouache for close to the estimate at € 24,000.

Antonio Corpora’s "Ciclo - L'Età della Pietra" went for little less at € 23,000 to an Italian collector, who stopped the lively bidding for this oil painting after the estimate of € 10,000 had more than doubled.

Other artists whose works greatly exceeded their estimates include Niki de Saint Phalle ("Nana" - estimate: € 7000; sale price: € 15,000), Martin Kippenberger ("Papa Balla - Mama Balla" - estimate: € 7000; sale price: € 12,000), Markus Lüpertz ("Architektur VII" - estimate: € 2000; sale price: € 11,000) and Günther Förg ("Ohne Titel" ["Untitled" - estimate: € 3000; sale price: € 10,000).

The MODERN ART division was headed by the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Ticino landscape watercolor "Landschaft (Tessin)". A private collection in eastern Germany outbid numerous parties bidding on the telephone and in writing to snatch up this watercolor, which carried an estimate of € 12,000, for € 43,000. The same bidder also beat off stiff opposition to acquire the Schmidt-Rottluff watercolor (estimate: € 7000) "Stillleben mit Rohrkolben in brauner Vase" [Still Life with Bulrush in a Brown Vase] for € 18,000.

Another work that remained in Germany was Karl Hartung's "Kleine Liegende mit aufgestütztem Kopf" ["Small Reclining Figure of a Woman with Her Head in Her Hands"]. Painted in 1948, the work (estimate: € 18,000) induced the owner of a private collection to pay about € 29,000 to acquire it.

An Austrian collector had to part with € 26,000 for Emil Filla’s "Stillleben mit StierschÄdel, Flasche und Buch" ["Still Life with Steer Skull, Bottle and Book"], which carried an estimate of € 20,000.

Whereas Pablo Picasso’s "Vieux roi couronné" changed hands for € 20,000 and returned to Paris, a German art dealer had to pay € 23,000 to take home the little Max Liebermann work in pastels "SpaziergÄnger im Tiergarten" ["Strolling in the Tiergarten"] (estimate: € 10,000).

Other works in the Modern Art division that handsomely surpassed their estimates include Mauritz Cornelius Escher’s "PortrÄt G. Escher - Umiker (Jetta)" (estimate: € 4500; sale price: € 15,000), Jeanne Mammen’s "Vor der Theaterkasse" ["At the Ticket Window"] (estimate: € 9000; sale price: € 15,000), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s "Frau, Schuh zuknöpfend" ["Woman Buttoning Her Shoe"] (estimate: € 7000; sale price: € 15,000), Julius Bissier’s "A. 15.10.62 K" (estimate: € 6000; sale price: € 13 100) and Willem Anthonie Oept’s"Landschaft" ["Landscape"] (estimate: € 5000, sale price: € 13 100) as well as Andrei Jawlensky’s "Dahlien (auf grüner Tapete)" ["Dahlias (on Green Wallpaper)"] (estimate: € 6000; sale price: € 12,000).

Post-auction sales continue at Meßberg 1 in Hamburg until November 24, 2006.

Since it was founded in 1954, Ketterer Kunst has been firmly established in the front ranks of auction houses dealing in art and rare books. While the Munich headquarters in the Prinz-Alfons-Palais is responsible for the two traditional annual auctions of Modern Art & Post War, the Meßberghof in Hamburg is the venue for two auctions a year, each based on the following fields: Old and More Recent Masters/Marine Art and Rare Books - Autographs - Manuscripts - Decorative Prints as well as Modern Art & Post War, with a focus on works on paper. In addition, exhibitions, special auctions and benefit auctions for charity are regular events at Ketterer Kunst..

Note: All sale prices mentioned represent the hammer price + 19 per cent surcharge.