Sotheby’s Goes German in London Led by Baselitz

Sotheby’s has decided to commit their Contemporary Evening sale in London to an orgy of German art. A group of 17 works by German artists will take up one fourth of the lots in the evening sale. They include Gerhard Richter’s Eisberg (estimate: £8-12m), Anselm Kiefer’s Athanor (estimate: £1.5-2.5m), Sigmar Polke’s Die Schmiede (estimate: £1-1.5 million), a major painting by Martin Kippenberger (estimate: £3-4 million), alongside key works by Wolfgang Tillmans, Albert Oehlen, Thomas Schütte, Günther Förg, Günther Uecker and Michael Krebber.

Sotheby’s has released these comments on their lead work and the market for German art:

A rare masterpiece by the German painter Georg Baselitz (estimated £6.5m-8.5m) is set to break the record for the artist at auction when offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on 8 March 2017. Mit Roter Fahne (With Red Flag), 1965, from the artist’s ground-breaking ‘Heroes’ series, is a painting that cemented the artist’s reputation as one of the most provocative and compelling voices of the post-war era.

The market for German contemporary art has gone from strength to strength in recent years:

• Over the last 5 years there has been a 31% increase in the number of bidders on German Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s auctions worldwide.
• In Sotheby’s flagship Evening London contemporary sales in 2016, around 20% of the works offered were by German artists.
• At Sotheby’s October 2016 ‘Frieze Week’ sales in London, the 9 works offered by German artists accounted for 43.3% (£20.76m) of the overall sale total.
• In the last two years alone, new auction records have been set for Wolfgang Tilmans, Gerhard Richter, Albert Oehlen, Thomas Schütte, Georg Baselitz, Martin Kippenberger, Günther Uecker, Sigmar Polke, Michael Krebber and Günther Förg.