Auction Results: Photography and Contemporary Art, May 31 and June 1, 2019 @Lempertz

A hefty Buy-In rate (over 46%) plagued the recent Photography and Contemporary Art sales at Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne. While there were a decent number of positive surprises to add to the momentum, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €450K) came in below the aggregate pre-sale high estimate.

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

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 202
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate NA
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate €754200
Total Lots Sold 108
Total Lots Bought In 94
Buy In % 46.53%
Total Sale Proceeds €460722

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

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 196
Total Low Lots Sold 104
Total Low Lots Bought In 92
Low Buy In % 46.94%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots €407200
Total Proceeds from Low Lots €274722
Mid Total Lots 24
Total Mid Lots Sold 13
Total Mid Lots Bought In 11
Mid Buy In % 45.83%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots €338000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots €186000
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 €0

The top lot by High estimate was tied between four lots: lot 18, Heinrich Kühn, In Bacino di San Marco, Venezia, c1898, lot 23, Heinrich Kühn, Edward Steichen, 1907, lot 625, Marina Abramovic, Woman Massaging Breast II, 2005, and lot 647, Nobuyoshi Araki, Tattooed Fuck, 1998, each estimated at €20000-30000 or €25000-30000. The top outcome of the sale was the Kühn image from Venice at €39680 (image above via Lempertz); the other Kühn image did not sell, while the Abramovic print sold at €24800 and the Araki print sold at €19344.

73.40% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 15 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). The 8 lots with outcomes above €3000 were as follows (images above, via Lempertz):

Lot 8, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Untitled, c1895, estimated at €1200, sold at €4464

Lot 9, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Untitled, 1895-1900, estimated at €1200, sold at €3100

Lot 12, Guglielmo Plüschow, Untitled, c1900, estimated at €1200, sold at €3224

Lot 51, Fritz Schleifer, Untitled, 1929, estimated at €800, sold at €6944

Lot 54, T. Lux Feininger, Untitled (Two students at the Bauhaus canteen), 1928/1929, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €7440

Lot 56, Marianne Breslauer, Sommer, 1929, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €9920

Lot 57, Walter Dexel, Reklame-Uhr in Frankfurt/Main, 1925, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €8680

Lot 175, Heinrich Riebesehl, Schillerslage, Hannover, 1978, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €8060

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

Send this article to a friend

Read more about: Fritz Schleifer, Guglielmo (Wilhelm) Plüschow, Heinrich Kühn, Heinrich Riebesehl, Marianne Breslauer, T. Lux Feininger, Walter Dexel, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Kunsthaus Lempertz

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.

Recent Articles

Mo Yi, Selected Photographs 1988-2003

Mo Yi, Selected Photographs 1988-2003

JTF (just the facts): Published in 2024 by Thames & Hudson (here). Hardcover, 11.3 x 8.9 inches, 192 pages, with 163 images in monochrome and color. Edited by Holly Roussell, ... Read on.

Sign up for our weekly email newsletter

This field is required.