Auction Results: Photography and Contemporary Art, June 1 and 2, 2018 @Lempertz

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).

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Read more about: Adolf Lazi, Albert Hennig, Anton Stankowski, August Sander, Guglielmo (Wilhelm) Plüschow, Hein Gorny, Hugo Erfurth, Jock Sturges, Leni Riefenstahl, Luigi Ghirri, Madame D'Ora, PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Margaret French), Shunk-Kender (Harry Shunk and János Kender), Vincenzo Galdi, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Wolfgang Tillmans, Kunsthaus Lempertz

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