While the headliner Moholy-Nagy photogram failed to find a buyer, the rest of the lots in the recent photography sale at Villa Grisebach worked hard to pick up the slack. A total of 14 positive surprises offset an overall Buy-In rate at roughly 33%, bringing the Total Sale Proceeds in near the low-end of the pre-sale estimate range, despite the missing revenue of the top lot.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 212 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €694050 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €997350 |
| Total Lots Sold | 141 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 71 |
| Buy In % | 33.49% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €620123 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 186 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 126 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 60 |
| Low Buy In % | 32.26% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €510350 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €380123 |
| Mid Total Lots | 24 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Mid Buy In % | 41.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €322000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €196250 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €165000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €43750 |
The top lot by High estimate is lot 2094, László Moholy-Nagy, Untitled (positive photogram), Dessau, 1925, estimated at €80000-120000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 2008, Hans Bellmer, La Poupee, 1936, estimated at €35000-45000, sold at €43750. (image in preview post)
96.45% 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) (images above, via Villa Grisebach):
Lot 2004, Ellen Auerbach, Sulphur Bath, California, 1949/1992, estimated at €1500-2500, sold at €6750
Lot 2017, Karl Blossfeldt, Portfolio: Wundergarten der Natur. Neue Bilddokumente schöner Pflanzenformen. Neue Folge Urformen der Kunst (1st Edition), 1932, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €3250
Lot 2021, Brassaï, Fille de Joie, Quartier Italie, Paris, 1932/later, estimated at €700-900, sold at €3750
Lot 2039, Elliott Erwitt, California, 1955/later, estimated at €1200-1800, sold at €4250
Lot 2066, Pierre Jahan, Aimable Pendu, 1943, estimated at €800-1200, sold at €6875
Lot 2079, Siegfried Lauterwasser, Schwingende Grauflächen (shadows cast by hung laundry onto snow), 1950, estimated at €600-800, sold at €3750
Lot 2101, Gabriele and Helmut Nothhelfer, Vater und Sohn auf der Industrieausstellung, Berlin, 1974/later, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4000
Lot 2115, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Brockenurwald, 1927, estimated at €1500-1800, sold at €4375
Lot 2116, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Kopfweiden/Niederrhein, 1929, estimated at €1500-1800, sold at €8750
Lot 2125, Jaroslav Rössler, Kytička (bouquet of flowers), c1960, estimated at €500-700, sold at €1625
Lot 2127, Jaroslav Rössler, Still Life Experiment, Prague, 1962, estimated at €500-700, sold at €1625
Lot 2129, Werner Rohde, Self portrait as a clown, 1928, estimated at €700-900, sold at €22500
Lot 2175, Götz Diergarten, “De Haan I“ (Picture #1, #2 and #3), 2003/2004, estimated at €1800-2200, sold at €4625
Lot 2187, Till Leeser, WTC, New York, 1998/2014, estimated at €300-500, sold at €1875
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
