With a Buy-In rate over 40%, the recent Photography and Contemporary Art sales at Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne struggled to generate momentum. A decent number of positive surprises added some energy, but the Total Sale Proceeds ended up falling below the aggregate pre-sale high estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 221 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | NA |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €641700 |
| Total Lots Sold | 130 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 91 |
| Buy In % | 41.18% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €428414 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 205 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 122 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 83 |
| Low Buy In % | 40.49% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €375700 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €291642 |
| Mid Total Lots | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €156000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €77252 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €110000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €59520 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 23, August Sander, The painter Heinrich Hoerle, 1928/before 1953, estimated at €50000-70000 (image in preview post). It was also the top outcome of the sales at €59250.
Only 73.83% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, but there were a total of 11 surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Lempertz):
Lot 5, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Untitled, c1900, estimated at €800, sold at €3348
Lot 6, Guglielmo (Wilhelm) Plüschow, Untitled, c1895, estimated at €800, sold at €4464
Lot 8, Guglielmo (Wilhelm) Plüschow, Untitled, c1895, estimated at €800, sold at €1612
Lot 9, Guglielmo (Wilhelm) Plüschow, Untitled, c1895, estimated at €800, sold at €5704
Lot 24, August Sander, Cinema Capitol, Cologne, c1930, estimated at €3500, sold at €16120
Lot 56, André Kertész, Chez Mondrian, Paris, 1926/1980s, estimated at €1500, sold at €3224
Lot 60, Hedda Hammer Morrison, China, 1933-1946, estimated at €1000-1200, sold at €5704
Lot 61, Hedda Hammer Morrison, Huà Shan, 1935, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €5952
Lot 124, Arno Fischer, Müritz, DDR, 1956/before 1998, estimated at €800, sold at €1612
Lot 138, Jock Sturges, Angela in Paris, France, 1984/1989, estimated at €900, sold at €1860
Lot 184, Jimmy Nelson, Idrish, Khairatkan. Nurkairath & Baskakhkan Ulaankhus, Bayan Oglii, Mongolia, 2011, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €8680
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Photography), here (Contemporary Art I), and here (Contemporary Art II).
