What seemed like a routine photography sale at Villa Grisebach earlier this month turned into an unlikely barnburner. Led by an astonishing 34 positive surprises and a top outcome Werner Rohde image that sold for more than 60X its estimate, there must have been something in the air in Berlin that day. Even with the top lot Peter Beard print withdrawn, the Total Sale Proceeds still came in meaningfully above the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 253 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €630700 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €886500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 179 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 74 |
| Buy In % | 29.25% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €926472 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 226 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 159 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 67 |
| Low Buy In % | 29.65% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €483500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €711472 |
| Mid Total Lots | 26 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 23.08% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €333000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €215000 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 (withdrawn) |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €70000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 2190, Peter Beard, Maureen Gallagher and Night Giraffe Feeding, 1987/1999, estimated at €50000-70000; it was withdrawn. The top outcome of the sale was lot 2152, Werner Rohde, Dunkle Figur, 1928, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €187500 (image above, via Villa Grisebach).
98.88% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 34 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 2001, Berenice Abbott, El, Second and Third Avenue Lines, Lower East Side, New York, 1936/1970s, estimated at €1800-2200, sold at €4750
Lot 2010, Kaethe Augenstein, Die Berliner Bildhauerin Renee Sintenis, 1932, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €3500
Lot 2015, Monika Baumgartl, World Trade Center mit Flugschneise, New York, 1978/1980, estimated at €500-700, sold at €2000
Lot 2016, Ladislav Emil Berka, Ohne Titel (Glasmurmeln), 1930, estimated at €250-350, sold at €1625
Lot 2018, Ilse Bing, Szymon Goldberg’s hand in concert, 1949, estimated at €1200-1600, sold at €4250
Lot 2026, Brassai, La Chaise de Gertrude Stein, 1931, estimated at €600-800, sold at €3500
Lot 2047, Elliott Erwitt, New York City (Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Seven Year Itch), 1954-1955/later, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €18750
Lot 2049, Alfred Ehrhardt, Doppelt geriffelte Sandglache im Wattenmeer, 1935, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €2750 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2063, Vera Gabrielova, Ohne Titel (Stillleben mit Geschirr und Krawatten), 1935-1936, estimated at €400-600, sold at €1875
Lot 2066, Hein Gorny, Ohne Titel (Getrockneter Fisch), 1929-1932, estimated at €250-400, sold at €2750
Lot 2067, Hein Gorny, Im Morgennebel am See, 1931, estimated at €300-500, sold at €1312
Lot 2070, Heinz Hajek-Halke, Verwehte Klange Drahtmontage, 1946, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €4750 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2071, Heinz Hajek-Halke, Lichtgrafik/Lichtgrafik kombiniert mit Originalfoto -2 Negative, 1950/1960, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €2000
Lot 2087, Lotte Jacobi, Photogenic, 1946-1955, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4250
Lot 2096, Kurt Kranz, Ohne Titel (Hande), 1930-1931, estimated at €800-1200, sold at €2750
Lot 2102, Siegfried Lauterwasser, Ohne Titel (Graser im Schnee), 1950, estimated at €600-800, sold at €1875
Lot 2104, Siegfried Lauterwasser, Wasserspiegelung (fotoform), 1950, estimated at €600-800, sold at €1875 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2110, Heinz Loew, Studie fur illuminierte Werbetafeln, 1928, estimated at €400-600, sold at €1875
Lot 2118, Will McBride, Romy in Paris, 1964/later, estimated at €700-900, sold at €2250
Lot 2136, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Topferhande, 1925, estimated at €1200-1800, sold at €4500 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2148, Evelyn Richter, Leipzig, 1982, estimated at €1400-1800, sold at €3625
Lot 2149, Leni Riefenstahl, Mick Jagger, 1970s, estimated at €4000-5000, sold at €20000 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2151, Werner Rohde, Karneval, 1927, estimated at €1500-2500, sold at €9375
Lot 2152, Werner Rohde, Dunkle Figur, 1928, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €187500 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2153, Jarolsav Rossler, Ohne Titel (Michelin), 1931, estimated at €700-900, sold at €2125
Lot 2154, Jarolsav Rossler, Paris II, 1930/later, estimated at €500-700, sold at €2375
Lot 2169, Jakob Tuggener, Ohne Titel (Ungarischer Ball, Grand Hotel Dolder, Zurich), 1935, estimated at €800-1200, sold at €4375
Lot 2172, Weegee, Ohne Titel (Knees), 1940s, estimated at €2500-3000, sold at €6250
Lot 2196, Michel Comte, Ohne Titel (Michelle, Mary Anne, Tracy und Satya, New York), 1999, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €5500
Lot 2226, Sigmar Polke, Ohne Titel, 1972, estimated at €3000-4000 sold at €15000 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2236, Walter Schels, Alfred Eisenstaedt (Portrait und Hand), 1992, estimated at €600-800, sold at €1625
Lot 2238, Alfred Seiland, D.S.I.E.K.K/G. Richter, 2001, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €3500
Lot 2244, Jock Sturges, Arianne et sa mere; Montalivet, France, 1989, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €6875
Lot 2249, Michael Wesely, 9.8.2001 – 2.5.2003 The Museum of Modern Art, New York for the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, 2001-2003, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €22500 (image above, via Villa Grisebach)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
