The top lot Thomas Struth jungle scene found a buyer at the recent Modern and Contemporary Photographs sale at Grisebach in Berlin, but that alone wasn’t enough to pull the entire sale into positive territory. Ten positive surprises were balanced by an overall Buy-In rate that came in over 40%, leading to Total Sale Proceeds that fell 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 | 190 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €761800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €1063800 |
| Total Lots Sold | 112 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 78 |
| Buy In % | 41.05% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €668374 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 161 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 96 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 65 |
| Low Buy In % | 40.37% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €465800 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €274624 |
| Mid Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Mid Buy In % | 44.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €347000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €227500 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €260000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €166250 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 2106, Thomas Struth, Paradise 24, San Francisco de Xavier, 2001, estimated at €60000-80000. It was also the top outcome of the sale at €95000 (image above, via Grisebach).
95.54% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 10 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Grisebach):
Lot 2010, Umbo, The 3 Codonas at work, c1932, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €10000
Lot 2013, Hans Hammarskiöld, Capriole, 1952/1980, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €3125
Lot 2014, Robert Doisneau, Le manège de Monsieur Barré, Place de la Mairie, Paris, 1955/later, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €11875
Lot 2021, Phil Stern, James Dean with photographers Dennis Stock and Gjon Mili, 1955/1989, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €7500
Lot 2036, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Rails in a coal mine near Dortmund, 1934, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €7125
Lot 2121, Michael Wesely, Point Lobos, 2000, estimated at €7000-9000, sold at €25000
Lot 2136, Walde Huth, Baulandener Keramik, 1949, estimated at €400-600, sold at €2125
Lot 2147, Boris Ignatovich, In the Bath, 1935, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €8125
Lot 2151, Pierre Boucher, Lisa Fonssagrives nue et voile, 1935/1938, estimated at €700-900, sold at €1875
Lot 2180, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German Pavilion. World Fair, Barcelona, 1928/1929, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €8125
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
