Anselm Kiefer
1945 · German · Neo-Expressionism
Biography
Anselm Kiefer, born in Donaueschingen in 1945 and based in France since 1992, is one of the leading painters to confront German history and memory after 1945. His monumental canvases layer paint with lead, straw, ash, sand and shellac, drawing on myth, the Kabbalah and the poetry of Paul Celan. He represented West Germany at the 1980 Venice Biennale and has had surveys at MoMA, the Royal Academy and the Centre Pompidou, plus permanent commissions at the Louvre and the Pantheon. For the market he is a blue chip with strong institutional backing and deep primary demand through major galleries, although his auction prices are well below those of peers and most lots sell under 1 million dollars.
Recent auction results
| Urd, Werdandi, SkuldPhillips, London | $190K | Mar 7, 2026 | heni.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to Paint (1975)Christie's, London | $288K | Oct 16, 2025 | heni.com |
| Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen (Waves of Love and the Sea)Christie's, London | $138K | Jun 26, 2025 | heni.com |
| Velimir Chlebnikow (2005)Christie's, London | $846K | Mar 6, 2025 | heni.com |
Market
- Liquidity: Medium
Museums
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Tate, London
- Centre Pompidou, Paris
- The Broad, Los Angeles
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
News
- Oct 22, 2026: Anselm Kiefer painting too large to exhibit gets its own David Chipperfield pavilion The Art Newspaper
Sources
- Masterworks, Anselm Kiefer
- Artnet News, The Appraisal: Anselm Kiefer
- HENI News, Dem Unbekannten Maler record 2011
- HENI News, Christie's London day sale 6 March 2025
- HENI News, How to Paint
- HENI News, Urd, Werdandi, Skuld
- HENI News, Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen
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