Dorotheum to Stage Contemporary Week Auctions
Vienna's Dorotheum will hold around 550 works across its Contemporary Week sales running November 17 to December 3, 2026.
Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Fine Art
Viennese auction house Dorotheum will stage its Contemporary Week sales at Palais Dorotheum, beginning November 17 and concluding December 3, 2026. The sales feature around 550 works spanning Viennese Modernism, international postwar art and contemporary art.
Why it matters
The auctions bring to market works rarely seen by the public, including a Max Oppenheimer painting unseen for more than 90 years and two previously unknown Gustav Klimt drawings. The offerings give collectors and institutions access to a broad range of 20th- and 21st-century artists across several regions.
The Contemporary Week sales comprise around 550 works, including a Max Oppenheimer painting in private hands until its recent rediscovery and two previously unknown Klimt drawings. Hammer prices and buyer demand for these lots will only be known after the sales conclude on December 3, 2026.
The players
Dorotheum
Dorotheum is a Viennese auction house based at Palais Dorotheum that has long been a central marketplace for Central European modern and contemporary art.
Max Oppenheimer
Max Oppenheimer was an Austrian painter associated with Viennese Modernism whose work is held in major collections.
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt was a leading Austrian Symbolist painter and founding member of the Vienna Secession.
The details
The Modern Art and Contemporary Art I sales include Max Oppenheimer's The Hess Quartet, bought in the mid-1930s by textile executive Arnold Glück, along with works by Egon Schiele, Alfons Walde and Giorgio de Chirico. International offerings include pieces by Ad Reinhardt, Victor Vasarely, Paula Rego, Neo Rauch and Daniel Richter.
Timeline
November 17, 2026: Contemporary Week auction sales begin at Dorotheum.
December 3, 2026: Contemporary Week auction sales conclude at Dorotheum.
Industry Dynamics
The Contemporary Week sales continue a pattern in which Vienna's auction houses market Viennese Modernism alongside international postwar and contemporary work, a combination that Dorotheum has used to draw collectors from multiple regions. The Vienna Secession of 1897 established the artists whose works now anchor these sales.
Collectors and art enthusiasts can view and bid on the offerings through Dorotheum's auction sales during the Contemporary Week period running November 17 to December 3, 2026. The sales offer a rare opportunity to acquire works that were unseen by the public for decades.
The takeaway
Auction previews like this one show how rediscovered works from established artists can re-enter the market and reshape collectors' understanding of early 20th-century Viennese art.
What happens next
The Contemporary Week sales conclude on December 3, 2026, when final results for the lots will be reported.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in the Fine Art section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by artnet News.
