The results from the Photography and Contemporary Art sales on May 24th at Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne were solidly on the mark. While the overall Buy-In rate was over 35%, there were enough positive surprises to keep the Total Sale Proceeds near the estimate target. Lempertz does not provide an estimate range in most cases, just a single estimate number, so this figure is used as the High estimate in the calculations.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 227 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | NA |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €556200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 143 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 84 |
| Buy In % | 37.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €471590 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 214 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 136 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 78 |
| Low Buy In % | 36.45% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €389200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €336170 |
| Mid Total Lots | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 46.15% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €167000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €135420 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | NA |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 22, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Portrait Ellen Frank, 1929, (image at right, top, via Lempertz), and lot 560, Thomas Ruff, Ohne Titel (B. Junger), 1985, both estimated at €20000-25000; the Moholy-Nagy was the top outcome of the sale at €52460, while the Ruff did not sell.
86.01% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate. There were a total of 18 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 1, Wilhelm Schneider, Spiegel und Konsole Eines Salons, 1860, estimated at €1200, sold at €5120
Lot 8, Eugene Atget, Marche au Timbres, 1898, estimated at €1800, sold at €3660
Lot 19, Josef Tokayer, Ohne Titel (Treppenhaus des Bauhausgebaudes in Dessau), 1928-1931, estimated at €1800-2000, sold at €4880
Lot 22, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Portrait Ellen Frank, 1929, estimated at €20000-25000, sold at €52460
Lot 25, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Ohne Titel (Maschinendetail), 1920, estimated at €1500, sold at €3660
Lot 59, Anonyme, Hochseilartisten am Heumarkt, Koln, 1946, estimated at €1200, sold at €4800
Lot 61, Edmund Kesting, Kameramann Konstantin Kesting, 1948, estimated at €1200, sold at €2440 (image at right, bottom, via Lempertz)
Lot 69, Otto Steinert, Junge Schauspielerin, 1949, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €4640
Lot 78, Rene Burri, Rio de Janeiro, 1960/1998, estimated at €1000, sold at €2560
Lot 86, Erwin Blumenfeld, Decolete, 1952/later, estimated at €1600, sold at €3900
Lot 111, Heinz Hajek-Halke, Verbrannte Barmherzigkeit, 1969, estimated at €600, sold at €1460
Lot 120, Robert Lebeck, Joseph Beuys und familie auf der Documenta in Kassel, 1968/later, estimated at €800, sold at €3900
Lot 133, Gundula Schulze Eldowy, Tamerlan, Berlin, 1984, estimated at €1500, sold at €3170
Lot 137, Klaus Frahm, Judisches Museum, Berlin, 1998, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €2810
Lot 168, Joint Army Task Force One Photo, The Test Baker Column, 1946, estimated at €1000, sold at €6340
Lot 169, Joint Army Task Force One Photo, Close-up View of Wall of Water after the Explosion of the Atomic Bomb, 1946, estimated at €1000, sold at €7080 (image at right, middle, via Lempertz)
Lot 175, Bernd und Hilla Becher, Anonyme Skulpturen, 1970, estimated at €1000, sold at €2810
Lot 187, Bernd und Hilla Becher, Siegener Strasse, Gosenbach, 1960, estimated at €700, sold at €1590
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Photography) and here (Contemporary Art).
