Auction Preview: The Discerning Eye: Property from the Collection of Eric Franck, Part I, May 19, 2017 @Sotheby’s London

Sotheby’s finishes up the short London season for photography with an eclectic single owner sale drawn from the dealer/collector Eric Franck. The good news is that the sale offers a selection of work that is rarely seen at auction these days, with plenty of lesser known European names. The perhaps less good news, at least for the consignor, is that given the obscurity of some of the images/artists, bargain hunters will likely be rewarded. Collectors interested in Henri Cartier-Bresson should pay close attention, as there are 32 prints available by the artist. Overall, there are a total of 119 lots available in the sale, with a Total High Estimate of £986000.

Here’s the statistical breakdown:

Preview Statistics
Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including £5000) 60
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) £209000
Total Mid Lots (high estimate between £5000 and £25000) 53
Total Mid Estimate £542000
Total High Lots (high estimate above £25000) 6
Total High Estimate £235000

The top photography lot by High estimate is lot 50, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Barcelona, Spain, 1933/1946, estimated at £40000-60000 (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
Henri Cartier-Bresson 32
Josef Koudelka 6
Yoshiyuki Iwase 4
Alvin Langdon Coburn 3
Martine Franck 3
Gyula Holics 3
Dora Maar 3
Antanas Sutkus 3

Other lots of interest include (images above, via Sotheby’s):

Lot 93, Josef Koudelka, Portugal, 1976/later, estimated at £18000-23000

Lot 101, Graham Smith, Who She Wanted and What She Got, South Bank, Middesbrough, 1982/2008, estimated at £4000-6000

Lot 111, Gyula Holics, Redoubled Bottle, c1955, estimated at £3000-4000

The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

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Read more about: Graham Smith, Gyula Holics, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, Sotheby's

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