The results from the recent Photographies sale at Paris (online), including selections from the collection of Lothar Schirmer, solidly met expectations. The top lot Helmut Newton set of portfolios found a buyer at the low end of its estimate range, the overall Buy-In rate came in at just above a respectable 21%, and there were a dozen positive surprises to help accelerate the momentum, so when the dust settled, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €2.51M) fell 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 | 153 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1856500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €2780500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 120 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 33 |
| Buy In % | 21.57% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €2510550 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 94 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 69 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 25 |
| Low Buy In % | 26.60% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €541500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €497070 |
| Mid Total Lots | 52 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 44 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Mid Buy In % | 15.38% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €1079000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €1099980 |
| Total High Lots | 7 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €1160000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €913500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 102, Helmut Newton, Private Property, Suites I, II & III, (3 portfolios/45 works), 1975-1983/1984, estimated at €300000-500000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at €302400 (image above, via Christie’s).
85.83% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 12 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 1, Brigitte Lacombe, Isabella Rossellini, NYC, 1989, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €13860
Lot 8, Patrick Demarchelier, Christy Turlington, New York, 1990/2003, estimated at €20000-30000, sold at €138600
Lot 33, Steven Klein, X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS11 [“Madonna on table”], 2002, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €35280
Lot 48, David Seidner, YSL, Anh Duong, 1986, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €20160
Lot 49, David Seidner, YSL Black Dress/White Card, 1994, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €10080
Lot 63, Herbert List, Herr und Hund (Master and Dog), Portofino, Italy, 1936, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €23940
Lot 73, Dorothy Wilding, Queen Elizabeth II, 1952, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €4788
Lot 90, Saul Leiter, Untitled, 1950/1980, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €16380
Lot 126, Laure Albin-Guillot, Jean Cocteau fumant une cigarette, Paris, 1939, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €22680
Lot 127, Man Ray, Genica Athanasiou portant un manteau Chanel, pour ‘Antigone’ de Cocteau, 1921, estimated at €8000-12000, sold at €81900
Lot 141, Elliott Erwitt, Saint-Tropez, France, 1959/later, estimated at €7000-10000, sold at €20160
Lot 142, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Nude in Mojave Desert, California, Harper’s Bazaar, 1948/later, estimated at €3500-5500, sold at €11340
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
