Munich - Two masterpieces by Max Pechstein (1881-1955) will be amongst the Expressionist highlights on view at Bonhams Munich from 20-24 October. The preview brings together works from Bonhams' forthcoming sale Expressionism: Germany, Austria and Beyond, Bonhams' first dedicated Expressionism sale, which takes place on 16 November at Bonhams New Bond Street, London, as well as one of the leading works of Bonhams Impressionist and Modern Art sale on 6 December in New York. Please find an invitation to the opening reception on 20 October, 6-9pm, below.

Pechstein's Bildnis Charlotte Cuhrt is amongst the highlights of the London sale. A signature work by the artist, the painting has an estimate of £500,000 - £700,000. Pechstein was one of the leading members of the Die Brücke group which was formed in Dresden in 1906. Inspired by Fauve painters such as Matisse, the work of these artists defined the German Expressionist movement during the early twentieth century. Bildnis Charlotte Cuhrt was painted in 1910 at the height of Pechstein's involvement with the Brücke group. The sitter was the daughter of one of Pechstein's most important patrons, Max Cuhrt, who Pechstein first met in 1908. Cuhrt became an important supporter of the artist, providing him with a studio space in the building he had constructed on Kurfürstendamm 152 in Berlin. He commissioned a number of works by Pechstein, including portraits of Cuhrt's wife and daughter that were to be incorporated into a sequence of wall panels for the Cuhrt's Berlin apartment. The work had been in the same private collection since its commission until 2008.

Also on view in the Munich saleroom will be Pechstein's masterpiece Sonnenflecken (1922), which will be presented in Bonhams' Impressionist and Modern Art auction in New York on December 6, offered at an estimate of $1,200,00 – 1,800,000. The work is one of a series of boldly colored Expressionist landscapes painted during the early 1920s and is emblematic of a period of great productivity and creativity in Pechstein's life: a "rebirth," as he called it, during which he was completely devoted to his art. Sonnenflecken likely belongs to the series of Colourist landscapes which Pechstein executed in and around Leba – a small village on the Baltic coast of what is now Poland – in July to September 1922, with the central subject the reflection of the sun on water, the study of which would recur in his later works. Pechstein's enthusiasm for the pastoral landscape of Leba is reflected in Sonnenflecken, seen in how he depicts a river of intense blue and yellow pigment, striking complementary colors, flanked by verdant fields and foliage with a newfound intensity and vigor. Under the vivid gold and emerald sky, the sailboats and waterscape come alive with energetically applied, angular streaks of colour, immersing the viewer in Pechstein's distinctive vision of the world.

The Munich preview will feature a number of other highlights of the London sale Expressionism: Germany, Austria and Beyond, which explores the origins and development of the Expressionist movement across Europe. Highlights on view include:

• GEORGES KARS (1882-1945), Das Gespräch (In der Loge). Signed and dated 'Kars 13' (upper left), oil on canvas, 40.8 x 33.6cm (16 1/16 x 13 1/4in). Painted in 1913. Estimate: £10,000-15,000.

• FRIEDRICH KARL GOTSCH (1900-1984), Anita. Signed with the artist's initials 'FKG' (upper left); signed, inscribed and dated 'FK Gotsch Anita 1931' (on the reverse), oil on burlap, 60.8 x 50.9cm (23 15/16 x 20 1/16in). Painted in 1931. Estimate: £6,000-8,000.

• FRIEDRICH KARL GOTSCH (1900-1984), Die alte Marinestation, Friedrichsort, signed with the artist's initials 'FKG' (upper right); signed, inscribed and dated 'Die alte Marinestation (Fr'ort) F.K. Gotsch 1930 Spi' (on the reverse), oil on burlap, 60.3 x 81.2cm (23 3/4 x 31 15/16in). Painted in 1930. Estimate: £5,000-7,000.

• ANDRE ALEXEYEVICH JAWLENSKY (1902-1984), Im Süden. Signed 'A. Nesnakoiyoff-Jawlensky' (lower left) and inscribed and dated '1924 III' (lower right); signed, inscribed and dated 'A. Nesnakoiyoff-Jawlensky "Im Süden" 1924' (on the stretcher), oil on canvas, 72.4 x 68.3cm (28 1/2 x 26 7/8in). Painted in 1924. Estimate: £10,000-15,000.

• CHAÏM SOUTINE (1893-1943), La femme en rouge au fond bleu. Signed 'Soutine' (lower right). Oil on canvas. 75.4 x 55cm (29 11/16 x 21 5/8in). Painted circa 1928. Estimate: £1,000,000-1,500,000.

• HANNS PELLAR (1886-1971), Dame im Ballkleid. Signed, inscribed and dated 'Hanns Pellar München .09.' (lower right), gouache, gold and silver paint and watercolour on card, 52 x 45cm (20 1/2 x 17 11/16in). 60 cm x 54 cm x 4 cm with frame. Executed in Munich in 1909. Estimate: £15,000-20,000.

• KARL SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF (1884-1976), Ostseelandschaft. Signed 'S Rottluff' (lower right), brush, India ink and coloured crayon on paper, 39.9 x 54cm (15 11/16 x 21 1/4in). Executed in the 1960s. Estimate: £4,000-6,000.

Thomas Kamm, Bonhams' Senior representative in Munich, commented: "This is a fantastic opportunity to see works by the pioneers of the German avant-garde and leading lights of Expressionism. We are particularly excited to be bringing together at Bonhams Munich two masterpieces by Pechstein, one to be offered in London and one in New York."