With a Buy-In rate just under 40%, the recent Photography and Contemporary Art sales at Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne struggled to generate consistent momentum. A significant number of positive surprises added some energy, but the Total Sale Proceeds ended up falling below the aggregate pre-sale high estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 201 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | NA |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €759300 |
| Total Lots Sold | 121 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 80 |
| Buy In % | 39.80% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €671150 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 179 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 106 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 73 |
| Low Buy In % | 40.78% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €414300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €289850 |
| Mid Total Lots | 20 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Mid Buy In % | 35.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €265000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €314340 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €80000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €66960 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 80, Robert Frank, Elevator – Miami Beach, 1955/before 1989, and lot 645, In Sook Kim, Saturday Night, 2007/2010, both estimated at €30000-40000. The Frank print sold at €34720 and the Kim print sold at €32240. The top outcome of the sales was lot 816, Candida Höfer, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève Paris II, 1997, estimated at €8000-10000, €sold at 52080 (image above via Lempertz).
Only 76.86% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, but there were a total of 19 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Lempertz):
Lot 6, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Untitled, 1890s, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4216
Lot 14, Hans Watzek, Mountain Landscape, c1900, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €19840
Lot 20, Heinz Hajek-Halke, Das Eva-Chanson, 1928-1932, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €18600
Lot 22, Anton Stankowski, Foto-Auge (Foto-Eye), 1927, estimated at €600, sold at €6448
Lot 24, Kurt Kranz, Bauhaus Fassaden (Bauhaus facades), 1930, estimated at €1200, sold at €2728
Lot 25, Heinz Loew, Untitled, 1930s, estimated at €400, sold at €2108
Lot 31, Various, Convolut of the exhibition ‘Dammerstock-Siedlung. Die Gebrauchswohnung’, 1929, estimated at €8000-10000, sold at €29760
Lot 35, Bauatelier Walter Gropius, Untitled, early 1920s, estimated at €1000, sold at €3224
Lot 71, Anneliese Hager, Photogram, 1945-1949, estimated at €1200, sold at €2976
Lot 93, Adolf Rossi, Racers, c1960, estimated at €800, sold at €2480
Lot 101, Janine Niepce, Nu juvenile, Paris, 1958/later, estimated at €900, sold at €1860
Lot 102, Jeanloup Sieff, Paris, 1981, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €4464
Lot 111, Mario Giacomelli, Pretini, 1961-1963/later, estimated at €2000-2500, sold at €6448
Lot 143, Jock Sturges, Fanny, Montalivet, France, 1995, estimated at €800, sold at €1612
Lot 146, Daido Moriyama, Hiroshima (from the series: Cities), 1971, estimated at €1200, sold at €3472
Lot 157, Miroslav Tichý, Untitled, 1950s-1980s, estimated at €1800-2000, sold at €4216
Lot 635, Andreas Gursky, Schwimmbad Ratingen, 1987, estimated at €18000-22000, sold at €49600
Lot 816, Candida Höfer, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève Paris II, 1997, estimated at €8000-10000, €sold at 52080
Lot 823, Darren Almond, Fukushima. Sesshu II (from the series: Fullmoon), 2006/2009, estimated at €8000, sold at €21080
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Photography), here (Contemporary Art I), and here (Contemporary Art II).
