After more than nine decades in private hands, appearing at auction for the first time
On 17 November 2026, a major work by Max Oppenheimer—his very first depiction of musicians—will hit the block at the Dorotheum's Modern Art auction. Oppenheimer moved in the artistic circles of Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka and is considered a pioneer of Austrian Expressionism. The painting The Hess Quartet: String Quartet No. 1 from 1914 marks the beginning of his intensive artistic engagement with music. Oppenheimer, himself highly musical, studied the musicians’ bowing techniques, postures, and fingerings. As in his later monumental painting The Philharmonic Orchestra, which is now housed at the Belvedere in Vienna, Oppenheimer’s extraordinary ability to translate the musicians’ rhythm and movement into painting with powerful expressiveness and Cubist-Futurist stylistic elements is evident here.
The work had been considered lost since the 1935 Secession exhibition in Vienna and has only now resurfaced from a private collection in the Czech Republic. The estimate for the oil painting, which has been published and exhibited numerous times, is between 300,000 and 500,000 euros. Please note the separate press release.
Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele are among the leading figures of Viennese Modernism. The auction features four newly discovered works: Two drawings by Klimt, depicting female figures, showcase his mastery of line, which is revealed in subtle details (Seated Girl with Bent Legs and Dress, c. 1909/10, €80,000–120,000; Seated Nude , c. 1907, €30,000–50,000).
Alfons Walde is one of the key figures in Austrian Alpine painting and one of the most important painters of the interwar period. In his compositions, he used striking accents of light and shaped the visual perception of the Tyrolean mountain landscape like no other. His iconic painting Ascent of the Skiers from around 1935 comes from a private collection in Vienna and is expected to fetch between 450,000 and 700,000 euros.
Colour Field Painting and Body Images
The Contemporary Art auction on 18 November 2026, will offer works by both international and Austrian artists. Abstract Painting (Green) from 1952 by Ad Reinhardt, a pioneer of Minimal Art and Conceptual Art. It is a key work in his artistic development, in which he explored the interplay of different colour fields (€400,000–600,000).
Victor Vasarely, co-founder of Op Art, is represented in the auction with Tomor from 1974/75. He plays with visual perception and creates the illusion of spatial depth through geometric forms, sophisticated colour contrasts, and optical shifts (€180,000–280,000). Giorgio de Chirico’s 1962 oil painting Gli Archeologi (Manichini Seduti) is a perfect example of Neometaphysical art in his late work. The upper bodies of the faceless mannequins sitting side by side are filled with fragments of Greek temples, arches, and columns, thus becoming a shrine to history (€200,000–300,000).
From a German Collection
The human body is the focus of an outstanding German collection. Assembled over decades by a psychotherapist, the works—including those by Daniel Richter (Scharnier von gestern zu morgen, 2005, €150,000–200,000)—reflect this theme. Renée Sintenis (Große Daphne, bronze cast, 1930, €180,000–260,000), Allen Jones (Waiting on Table, fiberglass sculpture, €50,000–70,000), and César (La Vénus de Villetaneuse, bronze cast, €80,000–120,000), their intense focus on humanity and art as a source of emotional strength.
The Italian avant-garde is represented by artists such as Piero Dorazio (Match, 1968, €150,000–250,000) and Carla Accardi (Assedio Rosso, 1955, €80,000–140,000), among others. With his relief-like, textured canvases, Enrico Castellani revolutionized postwar painting and created fascinating interplays of light, shadow, and space: Superficie Bianca from 2002 is estimated at 100,000 to 150,000 euros.
Postwar and contemporary Austrian art is also prominently featured: Two oil paintings by Martha Jungwirth, known for her distinctive, gestural, and expressive style, dating from 1995 and 2007, will be auctioned (€70,000–120,000, €80,000–140,000). Hermann Nitsch, one of the leading figures of Viennese Actionism, impresses with three of his characteristic Schüttbilder (splatterpaintings) from 1992 and 2018 (estimates ranging from 40,000 to 100,000 euros). An early work by Arnulf Rainer from 1952 is estimated at 60,000 to 80,000 euros. One of Herbert Brandl’s monumental colour panoramas will be offered. The 195 x 400 cm oil painting was exhibited at the Kunsthalle in Basel in 1999 and is estimated at 90,000 to 160,000 euros.
Max Oppenheimer (Vienna 1885-1954 New York), The Hess-Quartett. String Quartett I, 1914, oil on canvas, 120 x 117 cm, estimate €300,000 – 500,000
© Dorotheum | |
Giorgio de Chirico (Volos, Greece 1888-1978 Rome), Gli Archeologi (Manichini Seduti), 1962, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm, estimate €200,000 – 300,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Victor Vasarely (Pecs, Hungary 1906–1997 Paris), Tomor, 1974–75, acrylic on canvas, 190 x 190 cm, estimate €180,000 – 280,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Piero Dorazio (Rome 1927–2005 Perugia), Match, 1968, oil on canvas, 165.5 x 125 cm, estimate €150,000 – 250,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Daniel Richter (born in Lütjenburg 1962), Scharnier von gestern zu morgen, 2005, oil on canvas, 220.3 x 170.2 cm, estimate €150,000 – 200,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Martha Jungwirth (Vienna 1940 born), Untitled, ca. 2007, oil on heavy cardboard on wood, 105 x 73 cm, estimate €80,000 – 140,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Gustav Klimt (Vienna 1862–1918), Seated woman with bent legs, c. 1909/1910, blue coloured pencil on paper, 56 x 36 cm, estimate €80,000 – 120,000 | |
Print: |
© Dorotheum | |
Giorgio de Chirico (Volos, Greece 1888-1978 Rome), Gli Archeologi (Manichini Seduti), 1962, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm, estimate €200,000 – 300,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Victor Vasarely (Pecs, Hungary 1906–1997 Paris), Tomor, 1974–75, acrylic on canvas, 190 x 190 cm, estimate €180,000 – 280,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Piero Dorazio (Rome 1927–2005 Perugia), Match, 1968, oil on canvas, 165.5 x 125 cm, estimate €150,000 – 250,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Daniel Richter (born in Lütjenburg 1962), Scharnier von gestern zu morgen, 2005, oil on canvas, 220.3 x 170.2 cm, estimate €150,000 – 200,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Martha Jungwirth (Vienna 1940 born), Untitled, ca. 2007, oil on heavy cardboard on wood, 105 x 73 cm, estimate €80,000 – 140,000 | |
© Dorotheum | |
Gustav Klimt (Vienna 1862–1918), Seated woman with bent legs, c. 1909/1910, blue coloured pencil on paper, 56 x 36 cm, estimate €80,000 – 120,000 | |
