Auction: Photographies, November 20, 2009 @Sotheby's Paris

Sotheby's upcoming various owner photographs sale in Paris is conveniently scheduled to coincide with this year's Paris Photo. The auction is anchored by a large group of 74 lots that are being sold to benefit the Auer Photo Foundation (here); 32 are photographs from their collection, 30 are books/lithographs (also from their collection), and 12 others are donated images. The auction also includes a strong group of Eugène Atget prints (including some hard to find nudes). Overall, there are a total of 207 lots on offer, with a Total High Estimate of 2615100€. (Catalog cover at right, via Sotheby's.)

Here's the breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including 7500€): 118
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): 473100€

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between 7500€ and 35000€): 78
Total Mid Estimate: 1427000€

Total High Lots (high estimate above 35000€): 11
Total High Estimate: 715000€

The top lot by High estimate is lot 84, Irving Penn, Mouth, New York, 1986, at 80000-100000€.

Here is a short list of the photographers who are represented by three or more lots in the sale (with the number of lots in parentheses):

Eugene Atget (14)
Seydou Keita (5)
Robert Mapplethorpe (5)
Weegee (5)
Henri Cartier-Bresson (4)
Rene Groebli (3)
Eikoh Hosoe (3)
David LaChapelle (3)
G. Martin (3)
Nadar (3)
Helmut Newton (3)
Irving Penn (3)
Sebastiao Salgado (3)
Joel-Peter Witkin (3)

There are quite a few excellent fits for our collection in this sale. (No pictures are included, as the new Sotheby's catalog format doesn't allow for easy reuse of images.) Some of the notable lots for us include:

Lot 10 Charles Aubry, Nature Morte Aux Chardons, 1850
Lot 11 Anna Atkins, Asperula Odoater, 1852 and Aspidium Jamaica, 1852
Lot 34 Tina Modotti/Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Calla Lilies, 1924
Lot 35 Karl Blossfledt, Chrysanthemum Carinatum, 1915-1925
Lot 37 Albert Renger-Patzsch, Auf Dem Ozeandampfer Resolute, 1929
Lot 49 Florence Henri, A La Foire De Paris, 1929
Lot 126 Bernd and Hilla Becher, Chateaux D'Eau, 1974

The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

Photographies
November 20th

Sotheby's
76, Rue Du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris