Anselm Kiefer
Makes enormous paintings out of lead, ash, straw and German history.
Anselm Kiefer was born at Donaueschingen in 1945, in the last weeks of the war, and studied under Joseph Beuys at Dusseldorf. His first works, photographs of himself giving the Nazi salute in occupied countries, set out the subject he has not left since: German history, myth and guilt, addressed directly at a point when the convention was silence. The paintings are vast and are built rather than painted, with straw, ash, lead sheet, sunflower seeds, clay, shellac and dried flowers embedded in the surface. He moved to France in 1992 and works on an industrial scale at Barjac and outside Paris.
Condition is the defining practical issue and it is not a normal one: the materials were chosen because they degrade, so lead oxidises, straw and seed heads detach, and surfaces shed. Whether a loss is original, intended and stable, or is active damage, is a judgement that needs someone in front of the work rather than a photograph. The pieces are also extremely heavy and awkward, and transport and installation costs are a real part of any sale. Alongside the paintings are artist's books, photographs, lead sculptures and a modest editioned output.
If you own a work by Anselm Kiefer
Send photographs and whatever paperwork came with it. The first question is what the work actually is — edition or unique, when, and in what condition — because everything else follows from the answer. A valuation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Write to info@whitebankfineart.co.uk, or start below.
Whitebank Fine Art is an art advisory and gallery, not an auction house, and is not affiliated with any auction house or with the artist, their estate or their representatives. This page describes the range we advise on. Nothing here is investment advice.