With an overall Buy-In rate near 45%, the results of the recent Photography and Contemporary Art sales at Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne were decidedly uneven. While plenty of positive surprises created some positive momentum, in the end, the Total Sale Proceeds fell far below the aggregate pre-sale high estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 262 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | NA |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €818000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 146 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 116 |
| Buy In % | 44.27% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €471138 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 239 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 137 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 102 |
| Low Buy In % | 42.68% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €528000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €350982 |
| Mid Total Lots | 21 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Mid Buy In % | 57.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €210000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €120156 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €80000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 646, Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (Secret Liason, from the series Beneath the Roses), 2006, and lot 652, In Sook Kim, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (from the series Inside Out), 2010/2013, both estimated at €30000-40000. Neither print sold. The top outcome of the sales was lot 46, Hugo Erfurth, Otto Dix, 1933/1934, estimated at €8000-10000, sold at €24800 (image above via Lempertz).
Only 74.66% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, but there were a total of 18 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Lempertz):
Lot 7, Guglielmo (Wilhelm) Plüschow, Untitled, c1900, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €7440
Lot 13, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Untitled, c1895, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €4960
Lot 16, Vincenzo Galdi, Untitled, c1900, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €3224
Lot 28, August Sander, Familienportrait, 1920s, estimated at €2000-2500, sold at €8680
Lot 40, Adolf Lazi, Stahlwellen (Heine & Beisswenger), c1935, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €2852
Lot 44, Anton Stankowski, Medizinische Lampe, 1931, estimated at €600-800, sold at €1984
Lot 46, Hugo Erfurth, Otto Dix, 1933/1934, estimated at €8000-10000, sold at €24800
Lot 48, Bauhaus, Untitled (Metal Workshop), c1925, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €2480
Lot 50, Albert Hennig, Untitled (Bauhaus front, Dessau), c1932, estimated at €400, sold at €930
Lot 55, Hein Gorny, Untitled, 1929, estimated at €600-800, sold at €4216
Lot 60, Leni Riefenstahl, High Jumper, 1936, estimated at €800, sold at €3720
Lot 61, Leni Riefenstahl, Hurdler, 1936, estimated at €800, sold at €4836
Lot 64, Madame D’Ora, Mme Mary Costes, c1930, estimated at €900, sold at €2108
Lot 112, PaJaMa, Jared French, Provincetown, 1940s, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €3720
Lot 157, Luigi Ghirri, Ile Rousse, 1976, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €11780
Lot 176, Jock Sturges, Jennifer, County Galway, Ireland, 1999, estimated at €900, sold at €1860
Lot 192, Christo/Harry Shunk & János Kender, Edifice public empaqueté, 1963, estimated at €1500, sold at €3224
Lot 873, Wolfgang Tillmans, Window/Caravaggio, 1997, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €22320
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Photography), here (Contemporary Art I), and here (Contemporary Art II).
