The recent Photography and Contemporary Art sales at Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne performed generally to expectations. While the top lot Thomas Ruff print failed to fell, there were plenty of positive surprises (mostly at lower price points) to pick up some of the slack. With an overall Buy-In rate below 28%, the Total Sale Proceeds 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 | 194 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | NA |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €797300 |
| Total Lots Sold | 140 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 54 |
| Buy In % | 27.84% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €627440 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 168 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 122 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 46 |
| Low Buy In % | 27.38% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €328300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €308512 |
| Mid Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Mid Buy In % | 28.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €399000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €318928 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €70000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 542, Thomas Ruff, Substrat 27 II, 2005, estimated at €50000-70000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sales was lot 16, Heinrich Kühn, Untitled (Küstenlandschaft in Italien), 1897-1899, estimated at €15000-20000, sold at €42160 (image above via Lempertz).
80.71% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 26 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). The 13 lots with outcomes above €3000 were as follows (images above, via Lempertz):
Lot 1, Wilhelm Schneider, Ein lesender Mann in seinem Salon, c1860, estimated at €1500, sold at €3720
Lot 10, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Cain, c1900, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €5704
Lot 16, Heinrich Kühn, Untitled (Küstenlandschaft in Italien), 1897-1899, estimated at €15000-20000, sold at €42160
Lot 19, August Sander, Karl und Ida Ermert, Herdorf, 1907, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €14880
Lot 28, Hugo Erfurth, Karl-Hugo Schmölz, 1938, estimated at €1500, sold at €4960
Lot 32, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Trauben, 1928, estimated at €900, sold at €4712
Lot 51, Walter Hege, Koren des Erechtheion, Akropolis, 1928/1929, estimated at €800, sold at €5580
Lot 62, Hedda Hammer Morrison, China, 1933-1946, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €5704
Lot 76, Karl Hugo Schmölz, Funkhaus, Polstergestühl im Großen Sendesaal, 1952, estimated at €600, sold at €3224
Lot 108, Joint Army Navy Task Force One Photo, Untitled (Underwater Atomic Bomb, Bikini Atoll), 1946, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €3472
Lot 129, Arno Fischer, Marlene Dietrich, 1964, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €8680
Lot 146, Michael Schmidt, Untitled (from the series: Berlin nach 1945), 1980, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €3968
Lot 148, Michael Schmidt, Untitled (from the series: Frauen), 1997-1999, estimated at €1200-1500, sold at €3472
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Photography), here (Contemporary Art I), and here (Contemporary Art II).
