Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

Kirchner's masterpiece Berliner Strassenszene (1913-14) achieved his auction record when it sold at Christie's New York in November 2006, dramatically surpassing its pre-sale estimate by $10 million. This iconic painting depicts two elegantly dressed cocottes (prostitutes) strolling confidently through a bustling Berlin street, surrounded by anonymous bowler-hatted men with a number 15 tram visible in the background. The composition captures the dynamic energy of urban life through intersecting directional lines that keep the viewer's eye moving. This work falls within Kirchner's crucial Berlin period (1911-14), and belongs to his famous series of “Strassenbilder” that are widely recognised as among the foremost pictorial achievements of early 20th century art. Despite the physical proximity of figures in the composition, there is a profound sense of isolation - no gazes meet, highlighting the alienation of individuals within the crowd. The painting has a poignant history as part of a forced sale under the Nazis when Hans Hess and his widowed mother had to flee Germany. After changing hands multiple times, it was purchased by the Brücke Museum in Berlin in 1980, before being returned to Hans Hess' daughter following restitution negotiations.

Das Soldatenbad (1915), the title of which translates to “Artillerymen,” achieved this result when it sold at Sotheby's New York in November 2018. The painting depicts soldiers bathing, created during a pivotal moment in Kirchner's life while he was serving in the military during World War I, shortly before he suffered a nervous breakdown that led to his discharge. The painting has a complex provenance that reflects the tumultuous history of the period. It was originally owned by Jewish art dealer Alfred Flechtheim, who was forced to flee Germany in 1933 due to Nazi persecution. The painting subsequently passed through several hands, including Nazi party member Kurt Feldhäusser in 1938, before eventually entering the Guggenheim Museum's collection in 1988. After extensive provenance research, the Guggenheim restituted the painting to Flechtheim's heirs in 2018, acknowledging its questionable history. This top 10 sale saw the piece go to Norway's Sparebankstiftelsen for the National Gallery in Oslo, reflecting the foundation's policy of acquiring important works for Norwegian museums with limited acquisition budgets.

Sold at Christie's New York in November 2015, Im See Badende Mädchen, Moritzburg (1909) (Girls Bathing, Lake Moritzburg) is one of the first works from a series of seminal paintings that Kirchner created during three transformative summers at the Moritzburg lakes between 1909 and 1911. This vivid scene depicts three nude women lounging at the shoreline and in the waters of the lake, painted using loose, expressive gestural strokes of unmixed primary and secondary colours. This period at Moritzburg represented a crucial turning point in the development of the Die Brücke group, allowing Kirchner and Erich Heckel to work side by side in a natural environment. Colour became an expressive force for Kirchner, rather than a means of description. The green bodies of the nudes, highlighted with flaming strokes of orange, yellow and red, stand in direct, luminous contrast with the vivid blue of the lake. Interestingly, though painted in 1909, Kirchner pre-dated this work to 1907 in an attempt to falsify claims that he had been influenced by Henri Matisse and instead maintain that he was developing his style independently.

Das Boskett: Albertplatz In Dresden (1911), a large oil painting depicting a scene in Dresden, where Kirchner lived and worked before moving to Berlin in 1911, sold at Sotheby's London in February 2012. During his Dresden period (1901-11), Kirchner co-founded the Die Brücke group alongside Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff while studying architecture at the Königliche Technische Hochschule. The Albertplatz was a significant location in Dresden, and Kirchner's depiction of this urban park scene likely reflects his early interest in the relationship between modern city dwellers and their environment - a theme that would become central to his later Berlin street scenes. The work was exhibited almost immediately after being completed at a Berlin Neue Secession show in 1911-12.

Pantomime Reimann: Die Rache Der Tänzerin (1912), (The Dancer's Revenge) achieved £6 million when it sold at Christie's London in June 2021, marking the first time it had appeared at auction. The painting had remained in the artist’s estate until 1985, and then a private collection, before its 2021 sale. Created in 1912, this work represents the growing complexity of Kirchner's compositions following his move to Berlin in autumn 1911. It depicts a scene inspired by a pantomime by Hans Reimann, where an elegantly attired woman in a black and crimson burlesque-style gown forces her antagonist into submission through the power of her seductive dance. Kirchner’s own studio was decorated like the stage to create the reference for this piece, using fabrics, ornate furniture, and elaborate props. A free-standing mirror in the left-hand side introduces a complex game of looking within the scene, revealing a very blurry third figure that can only be seen in its reflection - possibly a self-portrait of the artist himself.

The life-size Dodo Mit Grossem Fächer (1910) sold at Christie's New York in May 2007. This sensual life-size portrait depicts Doris Grosse - known affectionately as “Dodo” - standing naked against the batik-covered walls of Kirchner's Dresden studio, holding an oriental fan. Dodo was a shop girl who became Kirchner's lover and favourite model while in Dresden, bringing life to the qualities the Die Brücke artists sought out. Her graceful, impulsive, and unselfconscious approach to her body and her sexuality made her the perfect subject for Kirchner's explorations of the nude form. Painted in 1910, this work represents the culmination of several influences in Kirchner's development. Moving beyond his earlier Fauvist-inspired paintings, Dodo Mit Grossem Fächer (1910) showcases a harder, more angular approach.

The most recent sale on this list, Tanz Im Varieté (1911) almost doubled its high estimate when it sold at Ketterer Kunst GmbH, Munich, in June 2024. This auction sale was an exciting opportunity for Kirchner collectors, as the work had remained hidden in a German private collection for 80 years after being banned by the Nazis for depicting a black man and white women. Prior to this sale, the work was only documented by the artist's black-and-white photographs and is presumed to have stayed in his Davos studio until at least 1923. The painting depicts a nightlife scene in a cabaret or variety theatre, reflecting Kirchner's fascination with dance, circus, and cabaret performances. It was painted shortly after his move to Berlin, and was included in the seminal Die Brücke exhibition at Kunstsalon Fritz Gurlitt in Berlin in 1912 - the first and ultimately only Brücke group show in Berlin. As a visual account of nightlife during a time of social upheaval, Tanz Im Varieté (1911) embodies the essence of modern city life just as much as Kirchner's famous Berlin street scenes that he would create from 1913 onwards, albeit from a different perspective.

The double-sided Strassenszene/Kopf Gräf (1913-14) achieved this result at Sotheby's London in February 2009. The oil painting Strassenszene from 1913 is a compact but powerful example of Kirchner's Berlin street scenes - its small size makes Kirchner’s largely unmixed colours and expressive brushstrokes even more effective. Kopf Gräf, on the other side, is a portrait from 1914. Strassenszene (1913) belongs to Kirchner's celebrated series of street scenes that he painted in the years immediately before the First World War. Focusing on streetwalkers in the illuminated streets of night-time Berlin, Kirchner's street scenes were provocatively modern portrayals of city life as a new form of existence. Berlin was the fastest-growing city in the world at this time and Germany's new metropolitan centre, making it something of a phenomenon at the time and the perfect subject for Kirchner's explorations of urban alienation. The painting was once part of the artist's estate in Davos, Switzerland, before passing through several collections including that of Roman Norbert Ketterer, a significant dealer and collector of German Expressionist art, after whom the Ketterer Kunst auction house is named.

Vier Akte Unter Bäumen (1913) (Four Nudes under Trees) sold at Sotheby's London in March 2017. As the title suggests, this painting depicts four nude figures in a wooded area, continuing Kirchner's exploration of the human form in nature that began during his summers at Moritzburg.

The theme of combining nude figures with natural settings was a central subject to the Die Brücke group's philosophy of returning to a more authentic, primitive relationship with nature. The Brücke artists frequently organised summer retreats where they would paint their companions, seeking artistic and spiritual rejuvenation away from urban constraints. This particular piece feels as though it borders on magical realism, evoking the plays of Shakespeare and medieval poetry. It was exhibited in numerous significant exhibitions, including at the Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea in Turin (1964), the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle's Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Akte im Strandwald exhibition (1996), and the Brücke Museum in Berlin (2005-06).

The only sculptural work on this list, Tänzerin Mit Gehobenem Bein (1913), which translates to “Dancer with Raised Leg”, is a carved oak sculpture. The piece sold for $1.5 million above its high estimate at Christie's New York in November 2015. Kirchner's interest in sculpture developed alongside his painting, drawing inspiration from African and Oceanic tribal art that he studied at the Dresden Ethnographic Museum. This sculpture reflects his fascination with dancers and performers - subjects that gained prominence in his art following his move to Berlin in 1911. Even the figures within his painted street scenes possess the sense of movement, grace, and spatial awareness associated with dancers. They are abstract and exaggerated to heighten the expressive power of their movements. The sculpture has a limited exhibition history, but was displayed at the Frankfurt Städel Museum in 2010.