LONDON – AFP
A painting of one of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky’s masterpieces, which saw him switch to an abstract style at a point in his life, will be sold at an auction organized by Sotheby’s in London as part of the artworks collection. Next March.
Titled “Murnau Mitt Kirche 2,” the painting is estimated to be worth $45 million. It measures one meter and depicts the German village of Murnau. The painting, painted by Kandinsky in 1910, graced the dining room of Joanna Margheretti and Siegbert Stern, owner of a prosperous textile company in the 1920s who were active in Berlin’s cultural life and befriended writers Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka. Scientist Albert Einstein.
The painting’s existence was not discovered until about ten years ago in a museum in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, where it has been since 1951. It was returned last year to Stern’s heirs, 13 of whom are still alive. It will share the proceeds of its sale at the auction.
At the same auction, a four-meter-long painting by Edvard Munch titled “Dancing on the Beach” is being sold, which was hidden in Norway to protect it from the Nazis during World War II and was finally returned. The painting is estimated to be worth $13.8 to $24.4 million.
A painting titled “Complex” by Czech painter František Kupka, owned by actor Sean Connery, is up for auction. Its price is estimated at 2.6 to 3.4 million dollars. Proceeds from the painting go to the Canary Foundation, which operates in Scotland and the Bahamas.
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