While the “contemporary-only” photographs auction is a model that has been tried plenty of times before, Sotheby’s takes another shot at establishing the nascent category with its upcoming Postwar and Contemporary Photographs sale in New York. Coming ahead of the usual fall auction season for photography (in early October), the sale gathers together a decently deep and balanced selection of contemporary work, populated by familiar names like Sugimoto, Sherman, Esser, and Dijkstra. The auction is led by a large scale Thomas Struth church façade. Overall, there are a total of 94 lots available in the sale, with a Total High Estimate of $3168000.
Here’s the statistical breakdown:
| Preview Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including $10000) | 30 |
| Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) | $250000 |
| Total Mid Lots (high estimate between $10000 and $50000) | 55 |
| Total Mid Estimate | $1398000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000) | 9 |
| Total High Estimate | $1520000 |
The top lot by High estimate is lot 23, Thomas Struth, Mailänder Dom (Fassade), 1998, estimated at $300000-500000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
Here’s the complete list of photographers with three or more lots in the sale, along with the number of lots on offer:
| Multiple Lots For Sale | |
|---|---|
| Hiroshi Sugimoto | 7 |
| Thomas Struth | 6 |
| Vik Muniz | 4 |
| Shirin Neshat | 4 |
| Peter Beard | 3 |
| Edward Burtynsky | 3 |
| Gregory Crewdson | 3 |
| Elger Esser | 3 |
| Robert Polidori | 3 |
| Cindy Sherman | 3 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 4, Rineke Dijkstra, Castricum Aan Zee, The Netherlands, June 1992, 1992/2005, estimated at $30000-50000
Lot 11, Elger Esser, Arles II Frankreich, 2008/2009, estimated at $30000-50000
Lot 44, David Hockney, Sitting in the Zen Garden at the Ryoanji Temple Kyoto, 1983, estimated at $15000-25000
Lot 59, Edward Burtynsky, Socar Oil Fields #3, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2006/2009, estimated at $10000-15000
Lot 79, Richard Mosse, Ruby Tuesday (Infra Series), 2011, estimated at $18000-25000
Lot 87, Roe Ethridge, Thanksgiving 1984 (Table), 2009, estimated at $6000-9000
The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.
