The Sotheby’s version of the London various owner photographs sale falls last in the spring auction schedule, but it follows the now familiar pattern of fashion/celebrity/nudes plus Peter Beard and Nick Brandt, with some middle range vintage and newer work mixed in for heft. Mapplethorpe and Sugimoto weigh heavily on this particular sale, with 14 lots between them. Overall, there are a total of 99 lots available in the sale, with a Total High Estimate of £1527500.
Here’s the statistical breakdown:
| Preview Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including £5000) | 15 |
| Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) | £69500 |
| Total Mid Lots (high estimate between £5000 and £25000) | 71 |
| Total Mid Estimate | £838000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above £25000) | 13 |
| Total High Estimate | £620000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate is lot 52, Peter Beard, Elui, son of Nzenge Mkambo from Voi, 1962/later, estimated at £70000-100000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
Here’s the complete list of photographers with three or more lots in the sale, along with the number of lots on offer:
| Multiple Lots For Sale | |
|---|---|
| Robert Mapplethorpe | 8 |
| Hiroshi Sugimoto | 6 |
| Nick Brandt | 4 |
| Peter Beard | 3 |
| Horst P. Horst | 3 |
| Helmut Newton | 3 |
| Ruud van Empel | 3 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 36, Frantisek Drtikol, Untitled (Nude Reclining), 1922-1928, estimated at £25000-35000
Lot 38, Paul Outerbridge, Jr., Beauty, c1936, estimated at £30000-50000
Lot 66, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Seagram Building – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1997, estimated at £50000-70000
Lot 68, Sohei Nishino, Diorama Map, New York, 2006, estimated at £12000-18000
The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.
