Kunsthaus Lempertz KG

What Kunsthaus Lempertz KG does

Kunsthaus Lempertz KG is a family-owned auction house founded in 1845 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany, now in its sixth generation of Hanstein family ownership. The firm operates four physical auction houses (Cologne, Berlin, Munich, and Brussels) supplemented by five international representative offices (Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, London, and Zurich), with travelling expert appraisal days conducted across additional European cities. It serves high-net-worth individual collectors, museums and public institutions, art dealers, and family estates/foundations across more than ten specialist departments, including Old Masters, European Decorative Arts, Modern Art, Contemporary Art, Photography, Asian Art, African and Oceanic Art, Jewellery & Watches, and Books & Graphics.

The company's core product is its auction service, executed through a proprietary live-bidding platform (Lempertz-Live at liveauction.lempertz.com) and an online auction portal (online.lempertz.com), which support real-time remote bidding, absentee bids, and entirely online-only sales. Supporting technology includes Matterport 3D virtual tours and PlayCanvas/SuperSplat interactive 3D scans embedded in selected lot pages, HubSpot CRM for client relationship management, and the MyLempertz personalized user account system. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based commissions: a buyer's premium (Aufgeld) on winning bids, seller's consignment fees on hammered lots, private off-auction sales commissions, and revenue from printed/digital catalogue sales. Appraisals for potential consignments are offered free of charge as a seller-acquisition funnel. Distribution follows a hybrid go-to-market model combining in-house experts and field representatives with an expanding digital self-serve bidding experience.

Name

Kunsthaus Lempertz KG

Legal name

Kunsthaus Lempertz KG

Website

https://lempertz.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1845

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kunsthaus Lempertz KG is a sixth-generation family-owned auction house founded in 1845 in Cologne, operating four auction houses and five representative offices across Europe to serve HNW collectors, museums, and estates across ten-plus specialist art departments via live and online auctions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Auction Services

NAICS

Art Dealers (459920)

akta.pro primary industry

Auction-based Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry) (CRAKAKAF)

Keywords

• Fine art auctions
• Art valuation services
• Private art sales
• Online auction platform
• Antique appraisal

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Buyer's Premium (Commission on Winning Bids): Buyers pay a premium (Aufgeld) on top of the hammer price. The premium is added to the final sale price and is included in the listed results (e.g., 'Ergebnis: 812.800 € (inkl. Aufgeld)'). This is the primary revenue stream for auction houses.
2. Seller's Commission / Consignment Fees: Sellers (Einlieferer) pay a commission to have their artworks consigned and sold through Lempertz auctions. The company offers free initial appraisals (kostenlose Schätzung) to evaluate objects before consignment.
3. Private Sales: Lempertz facilitates private (off-auction) sales of artworks outside the public auction process, generating commission on these discrete transactions.
4. Catalogue Sales and Subscriptions: Revenue is generated from the sale of printed and digital auction catalogues to collectors and art professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Kunsthaus Lempertz is a traditional fine art auction house that conducts live and online-only auctions across 10+ specialist departments, including Old Masters, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography, Asian Art, Silver, Jewellery, and Furniture. The firm additionally offers private sales, expert valuations, consignment services, free appraisal days, online bidding through the Lempertz-Live platform, and scholarly auction catalogues. Customers can submit single objects or entire collections for appraisal and consignment, bidding is offered both in-person and online, and the firm handles collections from initial valuation through authentication, catalogue preparation, marketing, and final settlement.

Product overview

Kunsthaus Lempertz is a family-owned auction house (founded 1845, in its sixth generation) offering a unified auction service platform spanning over ten art departments. Its core product is the Lempertz Auction Catalogues and Live Bidding Platform, supported by an Online Auction Platform for online-only sales, MyLempertz user accounts for personalized tracking, and Object Valuation & Consignment Services for sellers. Additional services include Private Sales for confidential transactions, Expert Days (traveling appraisal events), Identity Verification, and the Academy insights platform. The company operates physical auction houses in Cologne, Berlin, Munich, and Brussels, with representative offices in Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, London, and Zurich.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Fine Art Auctions Live in-person auction sales across 10+ specialist fine art and collectibles departments, conducted at the firm's Cologne headquarters with simultaneous online bidding available. Open to registered bidders, collectors, and institutions.
• Online-Only Auctions Auctions conducted exclusively online through the firm's dedicated auction portal, providing faster turnover and broader reach for trade buyers and sellers.
• Private Sales Discreet, off-market brokerage service for high-value fine art objects handled by the firm's management and specialist experts outside of public auction events.
• Expert Appraisal Days (Schätz- und Annahmetage) Free public appraisal events conducted at external locations (e.g., partner hotels) where prospective clients can have objects examined by the firm's experts for potential consignment.
• Object Valuation and Consignment Service Full-service consignment offering where owners of fine art and antiques can submit single objects or entire collections for expert assessment, authentication, cataloguing, and placement into the appropriate auction or private sale.
• Berichte und Mitteilungen (Auction Reports Publication) Scholarly auction report publication issued by the firm reviewing auction results and market intelligence, distributed to collectors and scholars.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.65 million € total sales at Asian Art auction (13 June 2026), exceeding pre-sale estimate by more than double
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bonhams: International auction house with strong presence in European Old Masters, Modern, and Contemporary art, as well as jewelry, watches, and collectibles. Comparable in mid-tier positioning and multi-category auction approach, though with a broader geographic footprint than Lempertz.
• Villa Grisebach: Berlin-based auction house focused on Modern and Contemporary art with significant overlap in German and European categories handled by Lempertz's Berlin and Cologne houses. Comparable in regional positioning, specialist expertise, and contemporary focus.
• Dorotheum: Vienna-based auction house covering fine art, jewelry, watches, antiques, and decorative arts across multiple specialist departments. Closely comparable in model, multi-department structure, and Continental European market focus, making it one of Lempertz's most direct peers.
• Ketterer Kunst: Munich-based auction house specializing in Modern and Contemporary art, with overlap in German Expressionism and post-war categories where Lempertz also has depth. Comparable in size, regional European focus, and mid-market positioning relative to global mega-houses.

Broad incumbents

• Phillips: Global auction house particularly strong in Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, and Watches. Comparable in offering Modern and Contemporary categories where Lempertz also competes, but with larger global footprint and Contemporary Art focus.
• Heritage Auctions: US-based auction house covering fine art, photography, Asian art, and collectibles. Comparable in multi-category auction model, though with stronger US/online focus and broader collectibles coverage than Lempertz.
• Sotheby's: The world's largest art auction house operating across fine art, decorative art, jewelry, watches, and collectibles globally. Directly comparable to Lempertz in core categories (Old Masters, Modern, Contemporary, Asian Art) but vastly larger scale, broader geographic footprint, and corporate-backed ownership.
• Christie's: Global fine art auction house with overlapping specialist departments in Old Masters, Modern, Contemporary, Asian Art, and Decorative Arts. Comparable business model (buyer's premium, consignment commissions, private sales) but with substantially larger scale and international reach than Lempertz.

Regional players

• Tajan: French auction house offering Old Masters, Modern, Contemporary, and Asian Art auctions. Comparable in European Continental positioning and multi-category approach, though with a primarily French market focus.
• Binoche et Giquello: Paris-based auction house focused on Fine and Decorative Arts with strong French/European consignment base. Comparable in category overlap (Old Masters, decorative arts) and Continental European positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Lempertzauction
• Facebookfacebook.com/342166652581075
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kunsthaus-lempertz
• Instagraminstagram.com/lempertz_1845_art
• Pinterestpinterest.de/lempertz1845

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kunsthaus Lempertz KG