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).
