Sotheby’s bats second in the upcoming Contemporary Art season in London, with its Evening and Day auctions next week. It’s a parade of familiar names and faces – a Sherman untitled film still, a Prince cowboy etc. – but in relatively muted and lesser known versions. Ai Weiwei’s boldly reckless Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn leads the way. Overall, there are a total of 26 lots of photography available across the two sales, with a Total High Estimate for photography of £1385000.
Here’s the statistical breakdown:
| Preview Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including £5000) | 1 |
| Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) | £5000 |
| Total Mid Lots (high estimate between £5000 and £25000) | 8 |
| Total Mid Estimate | £105000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above £25000) | 17 |
| Total High Estimate | £1275000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate is lot 42, Ai Weiwei, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995-2004, estimated at £150000-200000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
Here’s the complete list of photographers with two or more lots in the sales, along with the number of lots on offer:
| Multiple Lots For Sale | |
|---|---|
| CIndy Sherman | 3 |
| John Baldessari | 2 |
| Gilbert & George | 2 |
| Richard Prince | 2 |
| Gerhard Richter | 2 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 172, John Baldessari, Tree, Hand, Chair, 1988, estimated at £40000-60000
Lot 173, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #56, 1980, estimated at £40000-60000
Lot 178, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (We Are Notifying You of a Change of Address), 1982-1986, estimated at £20000-30000
The complete lot by lot catalogs can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
