The Cologne gallery, Michael Werner, has recently sold the Berlinische Galerie in the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, a Baselitz painting for DM2.3 million (£821,400; $1.56 million). “Der moderne Maler”, an oil painting (63x51; 1.60x1.29m) of 1966, was included in the Werner gallery’s “Hero paintings” show at its New York branch in March 1990. A different “Hero” painting by Baselitz was sold before Christmas at Sotheby’s New York for $1.1 million.
A spokesman for the Berlinische Galerie said that they had bought the painting because they only had one minor Baselitz and they were concentrating on collecting work by the group of artists, of whom Baselitz was the leading figure, active in Berlin during the Sixties.