Two self portraits by Gertrud Arndt soared above their estimate ranges (one to more than 10X its high estimate) in the recent Modern and Contemporary Photographs sale at Grisebach in Berlin. Even with a umber of positive surprises, the overall Buy-In rater was too high (coming in over 45%), driving the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €450K) meaningfully below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 194 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €683400 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €950600 |
| Total Lots Sold | 104 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 90 |
| Buy In % | 46.39% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €465061 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 173 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 98 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 75 |
| Low Buy In % | 43.35% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €396600 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €324436 |
| Mid Total Lots | 16 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Mid Buy In % | 68.75% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €284000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €90625 |
| Total High Lots | 5 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 80.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €270000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €50000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 2015, Irving Penn, Young Berber Shepherdess, Morocco, 1971/1983, estimated at €50000-70000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 2115, Gertrud Arndt, Self Portrait Nr. 39A, Dessau, 1929/1930, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €56250 (image above, via Grisebach).
89.42% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 12 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Grisebach):
Lot 2016, Xiomara Bender, Mangyongdae School Children’s Palace, Pyongyang, 2016, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €7500
Lot 2052, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Warburg Family Park in Hamburg Blankenese, 1928, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €5625
Lot 2059, Andreas Feininger, Portrait Lyonel Feininger, Dessau, 1928, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €18750
Lot 2060, Paul Wolff, Frankfurt am Main. Large market hall and office building, c1928, estimated at €1200-1800, sold at €3750
Lot 2075, Otto Steinert, Uberspaantes Paar, 1949, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €6000
Lot 2086, Paul Wolff, Boarding the Tram, c1933, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €3750
Lot 2092, Trude Fleischmann, Nude Study of the Dancer Claire Bauroff, 1925, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €6000
Lot 2114, Gertrud Arndt, Self Portrait Nr. 11, Dessau, 1930, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €20000
Lot 2115, Gertrud Arndt, Self Portrait Nr. 39A, Dessau, 1929/1930, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €56250
Lot 2118, Nini and Carry Hess, Helene Mayer after her Olympic victory in Amsterdam, 1928, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €4125
Lot 2130, Alberto Korda, Che Guevara, Guerrillero Heroico, Cuba, 1960/2000, estimated at €800-1200, sold at €2500
Lot 2152, Werner Rhode, Stork Scheme 1950s, estimated at €4000-5000, sold at €10625
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
