Sotheby’s has trounced the other two auction houses in this Fall season for Contemporary Art when measured by photography consignments. While all three houses have roughly the same number of photography lots on offer in their respective sales, the works available at Sotheby’s are by far the most valuable. A Richard Prince cowboy leads the offerings here, with two standout Cindy Sherman prints to follow up. And even if we take these Evening Sale highlights out, the Day Sale photography is also surprisingly strong, with solid offerings from Barbara Kruger, Richard Prince, the Bechers, Olafur Eliasson, and others. Overall, there are a total of 25 photography lots available, with a Total High Estimate of $7438000.
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) | 6 |
Total Mid Estimate | $183000 |
Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000) | 19 |
Total High Estimate | $7255000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate is lot 31, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1997, estimated at $1200000-1800000 (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 | |
---|---|
Richard Prince | 3 |
Cindy Sherman | 3 |
Bernd & Hilla Becher | 2 |
Adam McEwen | 2 |
Vik Muniz | 2 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 46, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #150, 1985, estimated at $800000-1200000
Lot 58, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #216, 1989, estimated at $1000000-1500000
Lot 489, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your Fact is Stranger Than Fiction), 1983, estimated at $300000-400000
Lot 503, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Nine Water Towers, 1973, estimated at $70000-90000
Lot 504, Olafur Elisasson, Fault Series, 2001, estimated at $80000-120000
The complete lot by lot catalogs can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).