Auction Results: Photographs from the Richard Gere Collection, April 7, 2022 @Christie’s (online)

Drawn from the collection of actor Richard Gere, there were more unexpected photographic rarities on offer at this single collector sale at Christie’s last week than in most online sales. A powerhouse František Drtikol nude from 1926 took the top lot honors (at roughly $350K), and with an overall Buy-In rate under 25% and a number of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $2.4M) generally met expectations, coming in squarely in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 139
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $2064400
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $3095300
Total Lots Sold 106
Total Lots Bought In 33
Buy In % 23.74%
Total Sale Proceeds $2422350

Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 70
Total Low Lots Sold 51
Total Low Lots Bought In 19
Low Buy In % 27.14%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $443300
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $430290
Mid Total Lots 58
Total Mid Lots Sold 48
Total Mid Lots Bought In 10
Mid Buy In % 17.24%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $1152000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $1008000
Total High Lots 11
Total High Lots Sold 7
Total High Lots Bought In 4
High Buy In % 36.36%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $1500000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $984060

The top lot by High estimate was lot 138, Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918, estimated at $300000-500000; it sold at $302400. The top outcome of the sale was lot 118, František Drtikol, Temná vlna (The Dark Wave), 1926, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $352800 (image above, via Christie’s.)

100.00% 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 Christie’s):

Lot 110, Sally Mann, Shiva at Whistle Creek, 1992, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $37800

Lot 118, František Drtikol, Temná vlna (The Dark Wave), 1926, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $352800

Lot 126, Diane Arbus, Audience with projection booth, N.Y.C., 1958, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $75600

Lot 129, Diane Arbus, Mr. Peanut in Times Square, N.Y. C., 1956, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $75600

Lot 136, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sale of Gold in the Last Days of the Kuomintang, Shanghai, China, 1949/later, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $30240

Lot 145, Clarence John Laughlin, House of the Past, 1947, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6300

Lot 154, Horst P. Horst, Male Nude with Hand Behind Buttocks, 1952/later, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $16380

Lot 166, Edward Steichen, The model and the mask, 1906, estimated at $600-800, sold at $2394

Lot 175, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tulips, (Just to Thank You), 1987, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $22680

Lot 205, Sally Mann, Jessie at 9, 1991, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $40320

Lot 223, Various Artists, Thirteen Images of Circus People, 1920s, estimated at $500-1000, sold at $2772

Lot 236, Edward Curtis, The Storm, Apache, 1906, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $25200

The complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: Clarence John Laughlin, Diane Arbus, Edward Curtis, Edward Steichen, František Drtikol, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Horst P. Horst, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sally Mann, Christie's

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