From Albers to Warhol: Modern and Old Masters from Collections and Estates
While summer may still feel reluctant to give way to autumn, K & K Auktionen in Heidelberg is already looking ahead to its 306th auction, taking place on 6 and 7 November 2026. Once again, the sale presents an eclectic selection spanning Modern and Old Masters, Asian Art, porcelain, jewellery, furniture and works of decorative art.
One of the undisputed highlights of the Modern Art section is Otto Hettner’s Frühlingsfest (Spring Festival), painted in 1905. This impressive Impressionist work was exhibited in 1906 at the Berlin Secession and at the Emil Richter Art Salon in Dresden. Executed in egg tempera on an Eternit panel and measuring 120 × 180 cm, the painting depicts a richly populated scene set within a Tuscan-Mediterranean landscape, animated by classically inspired architecture. It retains all of its original exhibition labels. A remarkable rediscovery from a long-established private collection in Baden.
Estimate: €4,500–6,000 | Reserve: €1,500
Of particular interest is the collection of Russian and Eastern European Art, featuring works by a number of important artists. Among them are Isaak Izrailovich Brodsky’s Lenin with His Military Advisors, an oil painting dating to circa 1920 (Estimate: €4,000–5,000 | Reserve: €750); Jan Stanisławski’s Full Moon Behind Trees of 1895 (Estimate: €10,000–12,000 | Reserve: €2,800); Julian Stanczak’s Melting in Late Color, an oil painting from 1968 (Estimate: €6,000–9,000 | Reserve: €1,900); and Władysław Jackiewicz’s mixed-media work Kompozycja IV (Estimate: €3,000–4,000 | Reserve: €650).
A striking presence is Bernard Schultze’s monumental Circe of 1980 (Estimate: €7,000–9,000 | Reserve: €2,000). At the other end of the scale, Josef Albers’ Poems and Drawings offers a particularly appealing opportunity: a limited first edition published in 1958, with dedication and signature (Estimate: €350–400 | Reserve: €20).
Two further highlights are a 1948 drawing by Willi Baumeister featuring abstract figures (Estimate: €4,000–6,000 | Reserve: €1,500) and Andy Warhol’s signed colour screenprint Committee 2000 of 1982 (Estimate: €7,000–8,000 | Reserve: €20).
Also noteworthy are the estates of sculptors Manfred Kieselbach and Fritz Schwarzbeck, offering numerous sculptures and three-dimensional works.
The Old Masters section is equally compelling. Highlights include a finely executed anonymous 16th-century painting depicting the Virgin Mary presenting the Christ Child with a basket of roses (Estimate: €2,500–2,800 | Reserve: €500); Augustin Hirschvogel’s 1549 etching Landscape with a Lake (Estimate: €9,000–10,000 | Reserve: €20); Jacobus Vonck’s sumptuous oil still life (Estimate: €2,000–2,500 | Reserve: €450); and Louis Welden Hawkins’ Jeune femme mélancolique in oil (Estimate: €4,000–5,000 | Reserve: €900).
Collectors of antiquarian books, modern design furniture, toys, porcelain, icons and historic memorabilia, as well as jewellery enthusiasts, will likewise find a wide range of works and objects to explore.
A catalogue well worth discovering.