Auction Results: Photography and Contemporary Art (Evening and Day Sales), May 30 and 31, 2025 @Lempertz

The overall photo results at the Photography and Contemporary Art sales at Lempertz in Cologne last week were largely uneventful. The top lot Helmut Newton nude found a buyer within its estimate range, but the overall Buy-In rate for photography crept above 38%. Even with several lower priced positive surprises to balance some of the passed lots, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly €520K) fell below the aggregate pre-sale low estimate.

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

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 258
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate €670800
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate €878300
Total Lots Sold 159
Total Lots Bought In 99
Buy In % 38.37%
Total Sale Proceeds €521262

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

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 240
Total Low Lots Sold 148
Total Low Lots Bought In 92
Low Buy In % 38.33%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots €476300
Total Proceeds from Low Lots €288792
Mid Total Lots 16
Total Mid Lots Sold 9
Total Mid Lots Bought In 7
Mid Buy In % 43.75%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots €252000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots €112770
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 €150000
Total Proceeds from High Lots €119700

The top lot by High estimate was lot 790, Helmut Newton, Tied-up Torso (Henrietta Ficellée), Ramatuelle, 1980/1981, estimated at €60000-80000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at €69300 (image above, via Lempertz.)

71.07% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were 9 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Lempertz):

Lot 603, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Untitled, c1900, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €3780

Lot 608, Edward Steichen, The Pool, 1899, estimated at €600-800, sold at €1890

Lot 609, Edward Steichen, Moonlight: The Pond, 1904, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €2394

Lot 622, T. Lux Feininger, Der Bau als Bühne, Bauhaus Dessau, 1927, estimated at €4000-5000, sold at €11970

Lot 646, Leni Riefenstahl, Ausklang, 1936/c2000, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4032

Lot 726, Ara Güler, Beyoglu, Istanbul, 1955/later, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €3024

Lot 729, Ara Güler, Istanbul, 1954/later, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €3276

Lot 736, Will McBride, Mike with Mentor at the School, 1962, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €2142

Lot 801, Jürgen Klauke, Annährungsakrobatik, 1996/2000, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €2016

The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Photography), here (Contemporary Art Evening), and here (Contemporary Art Day).

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Read more about: Ara Güler, Edward Steichen, Helmut Newton, Jürgen Klauke, Leni Riefenstahl, T. Lux Feininger, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Will McBride, Kunsthaus Lempertz

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