The battle for photography consignments this Contemporary Art season was utterly dominated by Christie’s. With more than $15M of photographic value on offer across its four upcoming sales, it wasn’t even close – Christie’s topped its next closest rival by more than 4X. No less than 7 works by Richard Prince provide much of the firepower, ranging from the consistently popular cowboys to lesser known early fashion ad appropriations. Works by Sherman, Kruger, Baldessari and others add to the haul. Overall, there are a total of 39 photography lots available across the four sales, with an impressive Total High Estimate of $15335000.
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) | 11 |
| Total Mid Estimate | $355000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000) | 28 |
| Total High Estimate | $14980000 |
The top lot by High estimate is lot 57B, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 2000, estimated at $2500000-3500000 (image above, via Christie’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 | |
|---|---|
| Richard Prince | 7 |
| Barbara Kruger | 3 |
| Gregory Crewdson | 2 |
| Elger Esser | 2 |
| Andreas Gursky | 2 |
| Vik Muniz | 2 |
| Robert Rauschenberg | 2 |
| Cindy Sherman | 2 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 3B, Richard Prince, Untitled (Fashion), 1982, estimated at $1500000-2000000
Lot 24A, Ana Mendieta, La Vivificación de la Carne: El Laberinto de Venus Series, 1982, estimated at $70000-100000
Lot 460, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Wish You Were Here), 1988, estimated at $200000-300000
Lot 463, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #95, 1981, estimated at $600000-800000
The complete lot by lot catalogs can be found here (Bound to Fail), here (Evening), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
