The photography available in the upcoming Contemporary Art sales at Sotheby’s in London is generally solid. Led by an Andreas Gursky image of the curving desert roads of Bahrain, and supported by an early Gilbert & George red tinted work and a Cindy Sherman film still, the sale has enough top tier consignments to entice a broad range of contemporary buyers. Overall, there are total of 37 photographs available across the two sales, with a Total High Estimate for photography of £3746000.
Here’s the statistical breakdown:
| Preview Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including £5000) | 3 |
| Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) | £15000 |
| Total Mid Lots (high estimate between £5000 and £25000) | 14 |
| Total Mid Estimate | £181000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above £25000) | 20 |
| Total High Estimate | £3550000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate is lot 37, Andreas Gursky, Bahrain II, 2007, estimated at £550000-750000 (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 | |
|---|---|
| Wolfgang Tillmans | 6 |
| Anselm Kiefer | 3 |
| Thomas Ruff | 3 |
| Cory Arcangel | 2 |
| Gilbert & George | 2 |
| Andreas Gursky | 2 |
| Vik Muniz | 2 |
| Shirin Neshat | 2 |
| Hiroshi Sugimoto | 2 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 21, Gilbert & George, The Office, 1978, estimated at £400000-600000
Lot 34, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #63, 1980, estimated at £200000-300000
Lot 211, Olafur Eliasson, Untitled (Waterfall Series), 1996, estimated at £50000-70000
The complete lot by lot catalogs can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
