The large-scale sell-off of the collection of Helge Achenbach’s bankrupt consulting company has begun. Around 2,500 works have been offered through they German auction house Van Ham (17-19 June) to cover the company’s debts.
The sale included pieces by Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz and Joseph Beuys, although most works were by lesser-known artists. The top lot in Wednesday’s auction was a monkey sculpture, 1945 Bleckede/Elbe (2007), by Jörg Immendorff, which sold for €46,000; the lowest-priced was a 2009 lithograph by Jan Balet, which was picked up for €60.
Highlights of the collection will be offered at the auction house’s Cologne branch on Saturday, 20 June and will also be auctioned by Sotheby’s later this year in London.
Achenbach, one of Germany’s leading art consultants, was accused of inflating the price of art and vintage cars he had bought for wealthy clients. In March, he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to six years in prison.