The potential star of the show at the sale of Selected Works held by Grisebach (25% buyer’s premium) in Berlin on November 30 lived up to its expectations.
It was Max Beckmann’s (1884-1950) 22in x 3ft 1in (56 x 95cm) oil painting Braunes Meer mit Möwen (Brown Sea with Seagulls), which was painted in 1941 in Amsterdam, where the artist had found a temporary refuge from the Nazis. He had hoped to emigrate to the US, but the authorities there denied him a visa until 1947.
Forced as he was to stay in Amsterdam for most of the intervening period, Beckmann nevertheless created a remarkable body of work, including the painting now on sale, which had been in a private German collection for many decades. After a short tussle it sold to an unnamed bidder for €1.2m (£1.06m), matching the lower estimate.