# Edmund Kesting artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/edmund-kesting/
Profile generated: 2026-05-13T03:53:11.161Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1892-07-27
- Death date: 1970-10-21
- Nationality: German
- Movements: German avant-garde photography, Experimental photography
- Common media: photography, painting, graphic art

## About Edmund Kesting

Edmund Kesting (1892–1970) was a German photographer, painter, and graphic artist who also served as an art professor. Active across the Weimar Republic, the Second World War, and the postwar decades, Kesting is recognized for his contributions to German avant-garde and experimental photography during the 1920s and 1930s. His creative practice extended beyond the camera into painting and graphic work, making him a multidisciplinary figure in twentieth-century German art. Institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York hold his work in their permanent collections, and his career is documented in major reference publications such as Bénézit, the Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, and the Oxford Companion to the Photograph.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Kesting through black-and-white photographic prints, particularly experimental and avant-garde compositions from the interwar period. Paintings and graphic works on paper also appear at auction. His photographic output includes portraits, still lifes, and abstract compositions. Works are typically signed and may bear studio stamps or gallery labels.

## Market and appraisal context

Kesting's work appears at auction in photographs, works on paper, and paintings. His Weimar-era experimental photographs are often the most sought-after category, though later paintings and graphic works also surface regularly. Collectors should consider medium, date, provenance, and condition as key valuation factors. Attribution can be complex given his long, multidisciplinary career. Consulting comparable public auction results and verifying authenticity through specialist examination is recommended before appraisal.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library, and authority-file sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Edmund Kesting, identity data is grounded in records from the Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, RKD, and the Museum of Modern Art.

## Sources

- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/44130
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/24468
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/8182460/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q402077
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500019076
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88299057
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kesting