Carl von Marr

The collection of the German-American artist Carl von Marr (1858 - 1936) was not only a new discovery and previously unknown to the public, but also almost unique in its closed and original state of preservation. It came from Carl von Marr's home, the ‘Villa Messerschmidt’ in Munich-Solln, which the Marr family lived in from 1916 until his death and was subsequently managed by subsequent generations. Surprisingly, none of these works (apart from six family portraits, which Bruno Storp, Carl von Marr's grandson, published in a ‘homage’ to his grandfather in 1976) were known to the public.

The estate was very popular with the public. The three large formats on offer in particular met all expectations: the impressive painting ‘The Sinking Day’ went to a collector from North Rhine-Westphalia for 51,200 €, as did the work ‘The Step of Time’, which exemplifies von Marr's interest in ancient mythology, which he expresses in large-format allegories (result: 25,600 €). The very personal work ‘The Painter’, which shows Marr's close friend and fellow artist Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt, went to a private collection in Hesse for 35,840 €. With these results, Van Ham now has two of the top 5 results for Carl von Marr, as well as the European auction record for the artist with the price for the painting ‘The Sinking Day’.