Robert Ketterer reaches the top result of € 100.040 for Ferdinand Max Bredt's relaxed harem's ladies.

Munich, 30 April, 2012, (kk) – With a result of more than € 2,6 million* in the April auctions, the season begins just as promising as a year ago. "32 percent new bidders in the auction of Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century alone once more confirm the high appeal of fine art", says Robert Ketterer about the spring auction's first part**.

A bidder from Great Britain honored the oriental scene with a result of € 100.040* at a starting price of € 25.000, thus letting it soar by 173 percent*** and relegating bidders, among them a fellow countryman, and interesting parties from France and the USA to places second and beyond.
The pastel work in soft colors "Skabiosen" by Henri-Edmond Cross (lot 166) remains on German soil. Clients from Great Britain and France made sure the work would rise high after it was called up at € 14.000, in the end they looked on when the work was sold for € 28.750*.

More than a six-fold its starting price was realized by "Drei Engel" by Franz Kadlik (lot 187), which went to a Czech bidder for a result of € 27.500*. In the end he won the race against fellow countrymen and an art lover from Hong Kong.

The rush was big when Franz von Stuck's oil study "Wind und Welle" (lot 237) was called up. For this work a bidder from Switzerland stood his ground against half a dozen competitors from Germany, Switzerland and the U.S.A. Going from € 3.500 to € 22.500*, the work realized an increase of 350 percent*** and thus the day's highest increase rate.

Besides half a dozen oil paintings by Friedrich Preller the Younger, almost all sold with high increases, it was especially prints that captured the audience's attention.

Other remarkable results were achieved by the following:

on 2.Modern Art

The highest result in this section was realized by the expressive India ink drawing "Zwei miteinander ringende Männer" (lot 451) by Käthe Kollwitz, which remains in Germany despite the heavy competition from the U.S.A. With a starting price of € 10.000 and a result of € 63.440*, it also realized an increase of 420 percent*** and thus the highest increase of the second auction day. Eight further works by the artist were also sold at prices mostly far beyond their starting price.

Another lot at the top of the result list is Ernst Wilhelm Nay's watercolor "Lofoten" (lot 404), which realized more than a five-fold of its starting price of € 9.000. A collector from the Rhineland-Palatinate beat the competition in the auction room, on the phones and the written bids. For a result of € 48.800* he made the sheet from a renowned German collection sure for himself.

Shortly afterward a similarly high price, from € 20.000 to a result of € 45.140*, was realized by an oil painting by Cuno Amiet, which adorns the catalog's cover. His chest portrait "Brustbild einer Dame (Irene)" from 1925 was sought-after world-wide. In the end a private collector from Switzerland won the race against fellow countrymen as well as against bidders from Russia and China.

Great international interest was on a watercolor without title by Salvador Dalí (lot 327), which went from a starting price of € 11.000 to a result of € 25.000*. The hammer went down for a Spaniard who relegated bidders from Germany, the U.S.A. and Great Britain to places second and beyond.

Other top lots of Modern Art:

on 3. Post War/Contemporary Art

Behind Jean Miotte's oil painting without title (lot 934), which went from € 7.500 to a result of € 17.500*, two works with the same result occupy places two and three: The joint work by Keith Haring and LAII (lot 947) as well as Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Astronaut" (lot 1029) were sold for € 16.250* each, with starting prices of € 8.000 and € 7.000 respectively. While the first went to a Belgian art dealer who won against bidders from Monaco and Germany, a private collector from Israel got hold of the latter.

Ernst Wilhelm Nay's untitled watercolor (lot 788) went to a Southern German bidder in the auction room for € 14.375*. The same height was reached by Victor Vasarely's "Composition N8" (lot 841), for which a private collector from Northern Germany stood his ground against the auction room.

The fact that Willi Sitte's "Rotes Liebespaar auf grünem Grund" (lot 916) would count among the auction's most popular works became clear as early as in the preview in Berlin. Accordingly, the six phone bids and four written bids were submitted by bidders from the capital and Germany's east. They not only made for a result of € 7.500* (starting price: € 1.600), but with 200 percent*** also for the day's highest increase.

The first place of increase rates of in the section of contemporary art goes to Otto Piene's "Oktober" (lot 807) with 350 percent***. The remaining eleven works by the artist were all sold and most with high increase. Half of them went across the ocean to the U.S.A., the other half remains in Germany.

More than just worthwhile mentioning in the section of Post War/Contemporary Art:

Objects unsold in the auction can be purchased in the post auction sale until end of May. Lists of auction results are available by phone. Please call +49 (0)89-55244-0.

*  The result is the hammer price
    +25 percent buyer's premium for objects up to € 25 000
     +22 percent buyer's premium for objects above € 25 001
     +20 percent buyer's premium for objects above 500 001

** Unlike other German auction houses Ketterer Kunst holds it auction season on
     several days. The main auction of Modern and Contemporary Art
     is on 9 June, 2012.

*** The percentage indicates the ratio between starting price (limit price) and hammer       price.

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, with its headquarters in Munich and a branch in Hamburg. Gallery rooms in Berlin as well as representatives in Heidelberg and Krefeld have contributed substantially to the company's success. In addition, exhibitions, special theme and charity auctions as well as online auctions are regular events at Ketterer Kunst. Robert Ketterer is auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst.