Plenty of low priced positive surprises helped the results from Villa Grisebach’s recent Modern and Contemporary Photographs sale in Berlin find their way to respectability. While the top lot Renger-Patzsch print did sell, there was wider weakness in the middle price tier. But the 17 positive surprises gave the sale an extra boost, pushing the Total Sale Proceeds just over the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 209 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €524000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €726000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 139 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 70 |
| Buy In % | 33.49% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €529612 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 187 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 127 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 60 |
| Low Buy In % | 32.09% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €385000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €304612 |
| Mid Total Lots | 21 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Mid Buy In % | 47.62% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €281000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €175000 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €50000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 2091, Albert Renger-Patzsch, „Das Bäumchen“ (The Young Tree), 1929, estimated at €40000-60000 (image in preview post). It was also the top outcome of the sale at €50000.
99.28% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 17 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Villa Grisebach):
Lot 2002, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, El Soñador, 1931/before 1971, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €3125
Lot 2008, Aenne Biermann, Einblick in ein Klavier, c1927/1928, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €15000
Lot 2009, Bleicke Bleicken, House in the Dunes, Kampen, Sylt, c1950/2010, estimated at €800-1200, sold at €2500
Lot 2010, Bleicke Bleicken, Relics with Shadows, Sylt, 1954/2010, estimated at €800-1200, sold at €3250
Lot 2025, Alfred Ehrhardt, Bird’s eye view across the tidelands, 1934/1936, estimated at €1400-1600, sold at €3500
Lot 2028, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Headwaiter René Breguet brings aperitifs to English guests at the skating rink of the Grand Hotel, Saint-Moritz, 1932/later, estimated at €2000-2500, sold at €5625
Lot 2037, Trude Fleischmann, Akt-Studie, c1925, estimated at €600-800, sold at €2250
Lot 2048, Florence Henri, Window in Paris, 1929/1974, estimated at €700-900, sold at €3000
Lot 2065, Russell Lee, Negro mother teaching children numbers and alphabet in home of sharecropper, Transsylvania, Louisiana, 1939/later, estimated at €400-600, sold at €1625
Lot 2072, Eli Lotar, Chemins de fer, c1927/1932, estimated at €700-900, sold at €2250
Lot 2095, Heinrich Riebesehl, Schillerslage (Hannover), Oktober 1978, 1978/2002, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €5625
Lot 2106, Toni Schneiders, Ein Mann allein, 1951/1970, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €4000
Lot 2107, Wilhelm Schürmann, Aachen, 1977, estimated at €700-900, sold at €3250
Lot 2122, Josef Sudek, Palm in Prague Castle Garden, 1942, estimated at €700-900, sold at €2000
Lot 2144, Christian Diener, Bernauer Straße, 1963/later, estimated at €500-700, sold at €1625
Lot 2181, Daniel Josefson, Dear Helmut, dear George …, 2008/2016, estimated at €700-900, sold at €4250
Lot 2188, Paul Maurer, New York, October, 1995, estimated at €600-800, sold at €1625
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
