With a concentration of works by Cindy Sherman and Richard Prince and led by a terrific early Gilbert & George, Christie’s has come to the table with more than $10 million in estimated photography value in next week’s run of sales. While that number pales in comparison to those being thrown around in the larger Contemporary Art market, it isn’t often that we cross the $10 million threshold in the world of photography, so these sales will be a decent bellwether for demand at the top of the market. Overall, there are a total of 36 photography lots available across the three sales, with a Total High Estimate of $10237000.
Here’s the statistical breakdown:
| Preview Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including $10000) | 0 |
| Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) | $0 |
| Total Mid Lots (high estimate between $10000 and $50000) | 13 |
| Total Mid Estimate | $427000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000) | 23 |
| Total High Estimate | $9810000 |
The top lot by High estimate is lot 24, Gilbert & George, Red Morning (Hate), 1977, estimated at $1500000-2500000 (image above, left, via Christie’s).
Here’s the complete list of photographers with three or more lots in the three sales, along with the number of lots on offer:
| Multiple Lots For Sale | |
|---|---|
| Vik Muniz | 7 |
| Cindy Sherman | 6 |
| Richard Prince | 5 |
Other lots of interest include lot 10, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #92, 1981, estimated at $900000-1200000 (image above, middle, via Christie’s), and lot 3, Richard Prince, Untitled(Cowboy), 1995, estimated at $600000-800000 (image above, right, via Christie’s).
The complete lot by lot catalogs can be found here (Evening), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
