Auction Results: Photographie, June 14, 2013 @Van Ham

The outcomes at the photography sale at Van Ham in Cologne last week were generally uneventful. While there were a number of positive surprises, an overall Buy-In rate near 50% and the failure of the two top lots to find buyers dampened the aggregate results. Overall, the Total Sale Proceeds fell meaningfully below the pre-sale estimate. (Van Ham does not provide an estimate range in many cases, just a single estimate number, so this figure is used as the High estimate in our calculations).

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 216
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: €566800
Total Lots Sold: 114
Total Lots Bought In: 102
Buy In %: 47.22%
Total Sale Proceeds: €322460

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 201
Low Sold: 95
Low Bought In: 106
Buy In %: 52.74%
Total Low Estimate: €306800
Total Low Sold: €218080

Mid Total Lots: 13
Mid Sold: 7
Mid Bought In: 6
Buy In %: 46.15%
Total Mid Estimate: €140000
Total Mid Sold: €104380

High Total Lots: 2
High Sold: 0
High Bought In: 2
Buy In %: 100.00%
Total High Estimate: €120000
Total High Sold: €0

The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 1111, Christian Boltanski, Jewish School, Große Hamburger Straße, Berlin, 1939, 1993, and lot 1221, Candida Höfer, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, 2006, both estimated at €50000-60000; neither lot sold. The top outcome of the sale was lot 1108, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Industriebauten, estimated at €15000-18000, sold at €43750

88.60% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate. There were a total of 15 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 1103, David Hockney, Sur le Motif, 1974, estimated at €1000, sold at 2€000 (image at right, middle, via Van Ham)
Lot 1104, Luigi Ghirri, Atelier Giorgio Morandi, 1989/1990, estimated at €3000, sold at €10000 (image at right, top, via Van Ham)
Lot 1108, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Industriebauten, estimated at €15000-18000, sold at €43750
Lot 1122, August Sander, Antlitz der Zeit, 1929, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €8130
Lot 1137, Lee Friedlander, Baltimore Maryland, 1962, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €6250
Lot 1140, Jeanloup Sieff, Portrait avec Violette, estimated at €1200, sold at €3000
Lot 1175, Luigi Ghirri, Ferrara, 1979, estimated at €2000, sold at €6250
Lot 1185, Thomas Struth, Paradies, 2004, estimated at €1200, sold at €4380
Lot 1197, Ludwig Windstosser, Schallplatten, 1955, estimated at €1800, sold at €4130
Lot 1271, Claus Goedicke, III-17, 1995, estimated at €300, sold at €750 (image at right, bottom, via Van Ham)
Lot 1286, Felix Bonfils, Album mit Aufnahmen aus Indien, Japan, Vietnam, Israel, Syrien, Libanon, 1880-1900, estimated at €800, sold at €1750
Lot 1295, Siegfried Lauterwasser, Wasser, 1948, estimated at €600, sold at €5380
Lot 1306, Albert Renger-Patzsch, 8 Anischtskarten, 1929, estimated at €800, sold at €2000
Lot 1310, August Sander, Madchenportrait, 1925, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €5000
Lot 1320, Karl Hugo Schmolz, Ohne Titel, 1950s, estimated at €800, sold at €2500

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Van Ham Kunstauktionen
Schönhauser Straße 10 - 16
D - 50968 Köln