PRESS RELEASE
72nd Art AuctionFrom Alt to West
The 24th February im Kinsky Kunst Auctions
Im Kinsky celebrates the 15th year since its founding with an anniversary auction on 24th February 2009 featuring a fine selection of 159 works of art. The works and artists represented in this auction are famous names from large museums and exhibitions. Accordingly, im Kinsky Art Auctions will open the private view on 18 February with a lecture by Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Director of the Albertina in Vienna. The total estimated price amounts to between 6 and 10.4 million Euros.
OLD MASTERS
"She possesses unbelievable and, for a woman, really incredible talent", Goethe once said about Angelika Kauffmann. Her panels created before 1777, "Temperance and Justice"
(€ 250,000 – 450,000), open the Old Masters section of the auction. They are part of a series of a total of four paintings of the cardinal virtues, of which today "Fortitude" and "Prudence" are now missing. The series was engraved in red point by Gabriel Skorodomoff in 1777 for the Russian czarina Katharina II and all four engravings are included with the panels. These paintings were last exhibited in 1968 at the Landesmuseum of Vorarlberg in Bregenz.
Rudolf von Alt is the epitome of 19th century Austrian art and a master in watercolour. Imagine the excitement at im Kinsky when "Der Konstantinbogen und das Kolosseum" was brought in, which is estimated to fetch € 130,000 – 200,000 at auction. The watercolour was painted in 1872 on Alt's visit to Rome and is truly breathtaking with its almost photographic representation and unusually wide format.
CLASSIC MODERNISM
There are only a few paintings representing Classic Modernism here, but they form an imposing group. Starting with five especially beautiful drawings by Gustav Klimt - all nudes except one depicting Adele Bloch-Bauer with hat – the estimated value for each of these is between € 60,000 and 120,000. Otto Rudolf Schatz, whose work has achieved such success at im Kinsky auctions recently, opens with "The bad news" (€ 180,000 – 250,000) and "View of St. Stephan's Cathedral from Vienna's first tower block" (€ 130,000 – 200,000). Two oil paintings, the first from 1944 telling of emptiness and hopelessness and the other from 1955 with a view of a better, brighter future.
Carl Moll presents "Villa Primavesi" at € 80,000 – 150,000, which Josef Hoffmann built for the patron of the arts and family of the same name. The oil painting
"Church in Heiligenstadt" (€ 70,000 – 120,000) and the "Still life with melon" (€ 40,000 – 80,000) give an impression of Moll's fascinating ability with light and colour.
Oskar Kokoschka's airy, radiant watercolour of a floral bouquet (€ 70,000 – 120,000), Franz Probst's "Tanz der Grotesken" (€130,000 – 200,000), Alfons Walde's "Meeting"
(€ 50,000 – 100,000), Oskar Mulley's "Parrots" (€ 70,000 – 100,000) and Max Oppenheimer's "Condemnation" (€ 350,000 – 700,000) are paintings that clearly convey all the excitement of Classic Modernism at its best.
JUGENDSTIL
In the Jugendstil section, a "Rauchdose" from the early Wiener Werkstätte, 1903, by Josef Hoffmann (€ 100,000 – 200,000) is set to attract international interest. Two heads produced by two women artists indicate the wide spectrum of work from the Wiener Werkstätte: Vally Wieselthier's "Head" (€ 10,000 – 15,000) from 1928 and Gudrun Baudisch's "Head with scarf" (€ 12,000 – 20,000) from 1926 will delight collectors. The vase from Franz Hofstötter (€ 25,000 – 40,000) is a real showpiece. This model was shown in 1900 at the World Exhibition in Paris and in 1901 at the Winter Exhibition in Vienna.
CONTEMPORARY ART
In the Contemporary Art section, im Kinsky intends to present one important work from each significant Austrian artist. Franz West is represented with his "Direktionstisch" (€ 250,000 – 350,000) made before 1982 from papier-mâché, carton and straw matting, which until the end of September 2008 was the highlight of the exhibition "Sit on My Chair, Lay on My Bed" at the MAK Museum of Applied Art in Vienna. There are 5 of his collages "Miete/Rent" (€ 150,000 – 250,000) taken from the Merciless exhibition in the MAK at the end of 2001.
Arnulf Rainer collectors are bound to be enthralled with one of his most artistic Crucifix representations (€ 100,000 – 200,000) and two earlier overpaintings. And then there is "Berlin VIII - 63"
(€ 40,000 – 70,000), 
one in a series of ten by Markus Prachenskypainted in Berlin in 1963. "Das blaue Tor" (€ 60,000 – 100,000) by Eduard Angeli was the winning design in a competition for the foyer of the National Bank and was exhibited in the Belvedere Gallery in 2003. Of course there are also pieces in this auction by Hermann Nitsch with a large-scale splatter painting, Max Weiler with "Wort" (€ 70,000 – 120,000), a work from the series 
"Als alle Dinge" and Wolfgang Hollegha with a large format fragrant work, Marc Adrian with a fold relief
(€ 13,000 – 20,000) and of course Maria Lassnig with an early watercolour. A whole range of excellent sculptures underline the growth in this sector: highlights are "Humanitätssäule I" by Johannis Avramidis (€ 80,000 – 100,000) and the 
"Russische Stele" in red granite by Karl Prantl
(€ 80,000 – 150,000). That the auction consists of more than works from Austrian greats is demonstrated by works such as the large acrylic painting by Victor Vasarély entitled "Balaton", which should fetch between € 70,000 and
€ 140,000.
ANTIQUES
A baroque tabernacle bureau
(€ 35,000 – 60,000) and the 430 x 290 cm tapestry"The banquet"
(€ 22,000 – 38,000) from the "History of the Emperor of China" by Beauvais around 1720-30 demonstrate the quality of the beautiful treasures brought into im Kinsky for this auction.
Our golden Anniversary Catalogue offers more than just an overview of the current offerings on the art market for art-lovers, collectors and buyers; as an exhibition catalogue it is also a timeless reference work, packed with information on provenance, literature notes, biographies and art history quotations. (IJG)
THE 72ND ART AUCTION – THE ANNIVERSARY AUCTION
Tuesday, 24th February 2009, starts 6 pm
Old Masters
19th Century Paintings
Classic Modernism
Contemporary Art
Jugendstil
Antiques
PRIVATE VIEW
Wednesday, 18th February 2009, starts 6 pm
Lecture: Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Director of the Albertina
"Austrian art in the context of international developments"
VIEWING
19th – 24th February 2009
Weekdays 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 11 am – 4 pm
If you would like more information or would like to order photos, I would be pleased to hear from you:
Iris J. Gradenegger, Tel. +43 1 5324200-11,
e-mail:
gradenegger@imkinsky.com.
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