Auction Results: In the Studio of Paolo Roversi, July 9, 2021 @Sotheby’s Paris (online)

The eclectic gathering of photographs and other materials drawn from the studio of Paolo Roversi performed well at Sotheby’s in Paris last week. The fashion photographer’s cameras and photobooks from his library sold well, as did a number of his own prints and those of other photographers he knew or admired. One recent Roversi print sold for more than 9X its high estimate to take the top lot honors, and the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €430K) came in near the top end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 73
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate €297500
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate €452500
Total Lots Sold 60
Total Lots Bought In 13
Buy In % 17.81%
Total Sale Proceeds €439110

Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 39
Total Low Lots Sold 36
Total Low Lots Bought In 3
Low Buy In % 7.69%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots €71500
Total Proceeds from Low Lots €89334
Mid Total Lots 33
Total Mid Lots Sold 23
Total Mid Lots Bought In 10
Mid Buy In % 30.30%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots €331000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots €311976
Total High Lots 1
Total High Lots Sold 1
Total High Lots Bought In 0
High Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots €50000
Total Proceeds from High Lots €37800

The top lot by High estimate was lot 6, Richard Avedon, Marella Agnelli, NYC, 1953/1981, estimated at €30000-50000; it sold at €37800. The top outcome of the sale was lot 4, Paolo Roversi, Roos for Dior, Studio Luce, rue Paul Fort, Paris 2017, 2017, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €56700 (image above, via Sotheby’s).

95.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 14 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). 4 of those lots were Roversi’s cameras, while another 5 lots were groups of photobooks from Roversi’s library. The 5 photographs that were positive surprises are as follows (images above, via Sotheby’s):

Lot 4, Paolo Roversi, Roos for Dior, Studio Luce, rue Paul Fort, Paris 2017, 2017, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €56700

Lot 10, Paolo Roversi, Natalia, Studio Luce, rue Paul Fort, 2009, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €27720

Lot 12, Paolo Roversi, Natalia, For Egoiste, Studio Luce, 9 rue Paul Fort, Paris 2003, 2003, estimated at €10000-15000, sold at €32760

Lot 14, Duane Michals, The old man photographs the young man, 1978, estimated at €500-700, sold at €2772

Lot 73, Don McCullin, Shell-shocked US Marine, Hue, South Vietnam, 1968/later, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €8190

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: Don McCullin, Duane Michals, Paolo Roversi, Sotheby's

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