VAN HAM was founded in Cologne in 1959 by art historian Carola van Ham, who had previously worked at Lempertz and continued the auction tradition of Franz A. Menna. The firm developed into one of Germany's significant family-run auction houses and is today managed in the second generation by Markus Eisenbeis. The house combines traditional live auctions with a substantial digital auction programme. Its principal art categories include Modern, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Fine Art, Old Masters and Impressionism, Works of Art and Art Nouveau, together with Fine Jewels and Watches. VAN HAM has developed particular strength in twentieth- and twenty-first-century art, including artists associated with German Modernism, the Rhineland ZERO movement and international Post-War and Contemporary art. Its auction history includes works by Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Günther Uecker, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Yves Klein, Lucio Fontana, Wassily Kandinsky and Andy Warhol. The auction house has also become an important venue for major private and corporate collections. Its Cologne headquarters, opened in 2014, provides purpose-built exhibition and auction spaces and remains the centre of the company's international auction activities.

Specialties

GCR continuously monitors public auction calendars published by leading auction houses around the world. Upcoming fine art and collectable sales are presented first, followed by other public auctions conducted by the same institution.

Sale formats