Press release:

Berlin, October 29, 2018: “Art market event of the year“ The Bernd Schultz Collection to benefit an ExilMuseum in Berlin is sold at auction for a spectacular 6.5 million Euros

The auction of the Grisebach founder’s collection to benefit an ExilMuseum in Berlin broke all records: “The art market event of the year“ (Welt am Sonntag) was the largest auction of a collection of drawings in Germany since 1945.
Substantial interest brought over 5000 visitors to the previews and extensive press coverage at home and abroad paid off with 6.5 million Euros* raised in the three auctions, above the estimated price of 5 million Euros.
Bernd Schultz: “I am delighted that most of the works on paper which I have cherished, treasured and loved for many decades are now passing into other appreciative hands. This result will be a strong boost for the establishment of the ExilMuseum. Having bid ‘farewell’ to my collection, an energetic ‘new beginning’ for the museum project commences.“
Works by French artists stood out particularly among the over 100 lots in the first auction of Old Master and 19th Century Drawings: top lots included studies by Toulouse-Lautrec (EUR 356,250), Watteau (EUR 87,500), Ingres (EUR 87,500), and Degas (EUR 118,750).
On Friday, the iconic 1910 work “Abschied“ by Käthe Kollwitz attained the highest result of the Modern and Contemporary Art Auction with EUR 437,500. The suite of five excellent drawings by Kollwitz, one of the central artists of the Bernd Schultz Collection, realised EUR 838,500 in total.
The important self portrait by Oskar Kokoschka achieved the second highest result of the auction with EUR 362,500. Works by Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Hermann Glöckner, Edvard Munch and Pablo Picasso achieved exceptional results.

*all results include buyer’s premium

Stefan Körner
T +49 30 885915 64
stefan.koerner@grisebach.com

The human face is the guiding light of the Grisebach founder’s collection of works on paper, to be sold at auction to benefit his long-wished-for goal.
It is the people within the images which have always fascinated Bernd Schultz, stoked his curiosity and which will continue to inspire him; their thoughts, life experiences and most secret passions. The whole spectrum of human life gazes out at us from the works in the collection. From the confident, striking features and life lines on paper, the foundations of a tremendous vision take shape thanks to this auction: the establishment of an ExilMuseum in Berlin to commemorate the displaced persons of history. For this purpose, Bernd Schultz presents his collection of drawings which has been assembled over six decades with true passion.
The collection of almost 400 works covers a wide range, from the Gothic period into the present day. Watteau and Warhol, Menzel and Baselitz, Corinth and Picasso are represented. Oskar Kokoschka’s twitchy lines from the early 20th century segue into an unsentimental portrait by Max Beckmann and the existentialism of Käthe Kollwitz. The confident draughtsmanship of contemporary artists like Bruce Nauman adds further to the sumptuous depth of the collection.
Just as the lines of a drawing provide insight into the mind of the artist, bright minds of today have written about these works – personally, passionately and poetically. Their texts express the conscious farewell of the collector and provide a powerful surge for success in this new project.

Press release (pdf)

Contact: Dr. Stefan Körner

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Elisabeth Nay-Scheibler, Köln/ VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Fondation Oskar Kokoschka/ VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Succession Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018