The Auction Alliance of Karl & Faber in Munich and Van Ham in Cologne has passed its first round.

When asked about their experiences with the marketing partnership, in the context of which the houses organized joint previews of their range of classical modern and contemporary art, both bosses spoke of a positive response.

With the attention that the alliance attracted, the first goal was already achieved.

It still needs to be analyzed whether customers who are connected to the other house “changed steps”.

According to Rupert Keim from Karl & Faber, conclusions will have to be awaited at the next events.

The results depend on how the interaction develops.

Van Ham's Markus Eisenbeis emphasizes the importance of creative ideas in an industry

which remain in small-scale structures in Germany.

According to Eisenbeis, it's quite possible that the Auction Alliance's appearance contributed "the last ounce" to the consignment of three important works by Otto Müller, Erich Heckel and Max Pechstein for the spring auction.

Paintings by Max Liebermann occupied top positions in the autumn auctions in both houses: The “Colomierstrasse in Wannsee” from 1916 was sold to a private collector at Van Ham for 320,000 euros (estimate 200,000 to 250,000 euros).

The work came from the estate of the Dresden entrepreneur Hermann Hugo Neithold.

At Karl & Faber, Liebermann's portrait study of the surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch was sold for 100,000 euros (80,000/100,000) and his "Concert in the Opera" from 1924 for 300,000 euros (250,000/350,000).

Here is another pas de deux from the contemporary stage: Andy Warhol's "Marilyn" from the portfolio of the same name almost reached the top estimate in Cologne at 190,000 euros, his "Goethe" jumped from 60,000 to 120,000 euros in Munich.

Of course, comparisons should not be a goal of the Auction Alliance,

At Van Ham there were good hammer prices for contemporary art, especially sculptures: 200,000 euros for Tony Cragg's unique piece "Industrial Nature", which is going to a Swiss collector at the lower estimate, and 280,000 euros for Fernando Botero's multi-breasted bronze "Le Matin", a of six copies, which the Prague-based joint stock company Collett Prague Munich, which according to the website "deals with gallery activities", also secured at the lower estimate.

Last but not least, in Van Ham's Modern Week, Wolfgang Tillmans' abstract photo work "Mental Picture #52" from the Olbrich Collection contributed 270,000 euros (150,000/200,000) to the sales quota by value of 131 percent including surcharge.

A rope team takes their first stage

At Karl & Faber, the auction of the collection holdings of the Munich art dealer Marion Grčić-Ziersch went extremely well with an estimate of 160 percent.

A gross price of 740,000 euros was booked for 130 lots – mostly paper works.

Oil paintings, however, brought the best results from the collection: Ernst Wilhelm Nay's "Welle" from 1935 came to 80,000 euros (40,000/60,000);

his gouache “Sitting” also came in above estimate at 40,000 euros.

Willi Baumeister's "Blue with a red square (small format)", created in 1946, sold for 57,000 euros (50,000/70,000).

"Line figure with colors", a Baumeister picture from another source, was accepted by a telephone bidder at the top estimate of 70,000 euros.

Their taxes confirmed at 12.

000 euros Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's multi-toned "Fernkraut" from 1936 and Max Beckmann's "Portrait of Jeanne Kaufmann" with 100,000 euros.

In the contemporary chapter, Gerhard Richter came out on top with a watercolor in blue, orange and yellow, signed in 1997, which achieved 85,000 euros (80,000/120,000).

Georg Jiri Dokoupil's work, for which he burst soap bubbles colored with blue pigment on the canvas, climbed from 25,000 to 43,000 euros.

Works on paper had previously been shown again with high international prices in the auction of old masters and the 19th century as an area for which Karl & Faber can call itself "the top address in Germany".

Van Ham claims this position in jewelry and watches.

It remains to be seen whether the Auction Alliance will create cross-links here as well.