In a stunning auction in Munich, Max Beckmann's final painting, Großer Clown mit Frauen und kleiner Clown from 1950, fetched an impressive €3.7 million. This artwork had been in the possession of Berthold Beitz, a former Krupp manager, and his family since 1965, and it was showcased in several museum exhibitions over the years.
The painting was initially estimated to sell for €1.4 million, but fierce bidding from online and telephone participants drove the final price to more than double the estimate. The identity of the new owner remains undisclosed, as announced by the auction house Ketterer.
Additionally, another significant piece, Max Slevogt's triptych Der verlorene Sohn (1899), sold for €559,000 during the same auction. This painting had been displayed at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart for decades before being returned to the heirs of Berlin art collector Eduard Fuchs, whose collection was partially destroyed and auctioned by the Nazis in the 1930s.
Ketterer also did not reveal the buyer of Slevogt's work.