For nearly 75 years, Eberhard Kornfeld, the determined auctioneer and thoughtful scholar, was the gravitational center of the European art trade. He died last year, just shy of his 100th birthday. Kornfeld made his mark early, taking over the leadership of an auction house in 1951, before he turned 30, that would eventually be called Galerie Kornfeld. In 12 days, that auction house will sell his personal collection of Modern art—including works by Edgar Degas, Edvard Munch, Paul Klee, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Marc Chagall, and Egon Schiele—into a global art market starved for high quality works.
Among his other accomplishments, Kornfeld was known for his scholarly works and preservation efforts around the life and career of Ernst Kirchner. He also had friendships with Alberto Giacometti and Sam Francis. Works by each of these artists are among the highlights of the sale, which arrives at a time when the auction market continues to turn toward historical works, and away from the most-contemporary artists. Indeed, the arrival of a high-quality supply of 20th Century works should be an exciting opportunity for collectors.
