New law is a factor in expansion abroad as auction house opens office in Los Angeles

Ketterer Kunst has become the first leading German auction house to begin its overseas expansion since the anticipation of the country’s more stringent cultural property laws. Robert Ketterer, the owner of the auction house, says that this was not the primary reason for opening an office in Los Angeles, where, he says, there is demand to be closer to buyers and consigners in a growing art scene. However, he adds: “With the latest developments regarding the cultural property law in Germany, [the new office] might also open some interesting perspectives.” The Munich-based auction house announced in March that Stella Michaelis had become its US representative. Michaelis was previously a director in the US for Hauswedell & Nolte, an auction house with its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany.