Auction Results: Photographies, L'Imaginaire du Nu, June 28, 2011 @Yann Le Mouel

The results of Yann Le Mouel's recent sale of nude photography in Paris were thoroughly dismal. With an overall Buy-In rate near 70% and no positive surprises at all, it is no wonder that the Total Sale Proceeds missed the range by a huge margin. And with just over 20000€ of total premium to the house, I think it is difficult to make the case that this sale even covered its costs.
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The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 248
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: 275350€
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: 358650€
Total Lots Sold: 76
Total Lots Bought In: 172
Buy In %: 69.35%
Total Sale Proceeds: 129552€

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

Low Total Lots: 241
Low Sold: 72
Low Bought In: 169
Buy In %: 70.12%
Total Low Estimate: 284650€
Total Low Sold: 77952€

Mid Total Lots: 7
Mid Sold: 3
Mid Bought In: 4
Buy In %: 42.86%
Total Mid Estimate: 74000€
Total Mid Sold: 51600€

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: 0€
Total High Sold: NA

The top lot by High estimate was lot 129, Peter Lindbergh, Milla Jovovitch, NYC, Italian Vogue, 1996, at 15000-20000€; it was also the top outcome of the sale at 20400€.

93.42% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were no surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
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Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction Results: Photographies Modernes et Contemporaines, May 27, 2011 @Yann Le Mouel

The results of Yann Le Mouel's recent various owner photography sale in Paris were a decidedly mixed bag. While quite a few portraits of artists outperformed their estimates, the overall Buy-In rate was over 50% and the Total Sale Proceeds missed the range by a significant amount.

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

Total Lots: 342
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: 551600€
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: 744200€
Total Lots Sold: 158
Total Lots Bought In: 184
Buy In %: 53.80%
Total Sale Proceeds: 368112€

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

Low Total Lots: 332
Low Sold: 155
Low Bought In: 177
Buy In %: 53.31%
Total Low Estimate: 592200€
Total Low Sold: 329112€

Mid Total Lots: 10
Mid Sold: 3
Mid Bought In: 7
Buy In %: 70.00%
Total Mid Estimate: 152000€
Total Mid Sold: 39000€

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: 0€
Total High Sold: NA
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The top lot by High estimate was lot 32, Jaromir Funke, Composition a la bouteille, 1925, at 20000-30000€; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 136, Irving Penn, Pablo Picasso a la Californie, Cannes, 1957, at 15360€.
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94.94% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 12 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 63, Francois Kollar, Le port du Paris, 1931, at 4200€ (image at right, bottom, via Yann Le Mouel)
Lot 122, Alexander Calder, 6 portraits de l'artiste, 1958-1967, at 1800€
Lot 125, Hans Arp, Portrait de l'artiste, 1958, at 660€
Lot 136, Irving Penn, Pablo Picasso a la Californie, Cannes, 1957, at 15360€
Lot 156, Alfred Manessier, Portrait du peintre, 1952, at 660€
Lot 167, Marcel Duchamp, Marcel Duchap avant Grand Verre, 1961, at 1800€
Lot 171, Matta, 2 portraits de l'artiste, 1958, at 1020€
Lot 172, Alberto Giacometti, 4 portraits de l'artiste, 1963, at 2400€
Lot 173, Alexander Liberman, Portrait d'Alberto Giacometti, 1950, at 3240€
Lot 197, William Klein, Courreges Mini-robe et Panatalon, 1965, at 3480€ (image at right, top, via Yann Le Mouel)
Lot 211, Irving Penn, Duke Ellington, New York, 1955, at 6120€
Lot 223, Gisele Freund, Le Corbusier dans son atelier, 1961, at 2400€ (image at right, middle, via Yann Le Mouel)

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction: Photographies, L'Imaginaire du Nu, June 28, 2011 @Yann Le Mouel

Before the summer distractions set in, Yann Le Mouel has scheduled a single subject sale of generally low priced nudes next week in Paris. The vast majority of the lots are priced under 2000€, with a wide selection of female and male nudes, ranging from daguerreotypes and 19th century scenes to contemporary images. Overall, there are a total of 248 lots on offer, with a Total High Estimate of 350650€.

Here's the breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including 7500€): 242
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): 284650€

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between 7500€ and 35000€): 6
Total Mid Estimate: 66000€

Total High Lots (high estimate above 35000€): 0
Total High Estimate: NA

The top lot by High estimate is lot 129, Peter Lindbergh, Milla Jovovitch, NYC, Italian Vogue, 1996, at 15000-20000€. (Image at right, top, via Yann Le Mouel.)

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

Pierre Boucher (9)
Gaudenzio Marconi (6)
Guglielmo Pluschow (6)
Andre Steiner (5)
Lehnert & Landrock (5)
Pierre Molinier (5)
Monsieur X (5)

(Lot 30, Rene-Jacques, Royan, Charente-Maritime, 1927, at 2000-3000€, image at right, middle, and lot 239, Jeanluop Sieff, Nu en diagonale, 1964, at 1500-2000€, image at right, bottom, both via Yann Le Mouel.)

The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

Photographies, L'Imaginaire du Nu
June 28th

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction: Photographies Modernes et Contemporaines, May 27, 2011 @Yann Le Mouel

Yann Le Mouel continues the Paris auction season for photographs later this week with its various owner sale. As usual, the material is heavily French/European and almost all at the lower end of the price range. Andre Villers is the total lot leader, helped by a selection of whimsical painted cutouts holding Rolleiflex cameras. Overall, there are a total of 342 lots on offer, with a Total High Estimate of 744200€.
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Here's the breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including 7500€): 332
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): 592200€

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between 7500€ and 35000€): 10
Total Mid Estimate: 152000€

Total High Lots (high estimate above 35000€): 0
Total High Estimate: NA

The top lot by High estimate is lot 32, Jaromir Funke, Composition a la bouteille, 1925, at 20000-30000€. (Image at right, top, via Yann Le Mouel.)

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

Andre Villers (35)
Robert Doisneau (11)
Brassai 10
Man Ray 10
Edouard Boubat (9)
Andre Kertesz (7)
Henri Cartier-Bresson (5)
Lucien Clergue (5)
Izis (5)
Francois Kollar (5)
Nicolas Yantchevsky (5)
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(Lot 139, Walker Evans, House with Cast Iron Grill Work, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1936, at 10000-15000€. Image at right, bottom, via Yann Le Mouel.)

The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

Photographies Modernes et Contemporaines
May 27th
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Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction Results: Photographies Modernes et Contemporaines, November 9, 2010 @Yann Le Mouel

Yann Le Mouel's various owner photography sale took place during Paris Photo last week, but the results were relatively flat for this selection of lower end material. The Buy-In rate was over 40% and the Total Sale Proceeds missed the Total Low Estimate by a decent margin.

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

Total Lots: 250
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: 349800€
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: 464130€
Total Lots Sold: 144
Total Lots Bought In: 106
Buy In %: 42.40%
Total Sale Proceeds: 297060€

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

Low Total Lots: 245
Low Sold: 140
Low Bought In: 105
Buy In %: 42.86%
Total Low Estimate: 401130€
Total Low Sold: 239220€

Mid Total Lots: 5
Mid Sold: 4
Mid Bought In: 1
Buy In %: 20.00%
Total Mid Estimate: 63000€
Total Mid Sold: 57840€

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: 0€
Total High Sold: NA

The top lot by High estimate was tied between three lots, all at 10000-15000€: lot 91, Andreas Feininger, The Photojournalist, 1955, lot 214, Kimiko Yoshida, La Mariée abelam au masque d'initiation baba, East Sepik, Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, Autoportrait, 2005, and lot 226, Peter Lindbergh, Naomi Campbell, Vogue US, Los Angeles, USA, 1990. The Feininger was the top outcome of the sale at 18000€; the Yoshida and the Lindbergh both sold for 15000€.
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89.58% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 9 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
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Lot 3, La Goulue, La Goulue et Grille d'Egat and La Goulue, le Port d'arme, 1890, at 480€
Lot 4, Pierre Louis Pierson, Portraits de la Comtesse Castiglione, 1861-1867, at 660€
Lot 23, Andre Kertesz, Melancholic Tulip, 1939/1984, at 3360€
Lot 53, Humphrey Spender, Unemployed: Tyneside, 1986/Later, at 2040€
Lot 119, Robert Doisneau, Theatre du Puces, 1953, at 3840€
Lot 121, Robert Doisneau, Photos Instantanees, 1953, at 2640€ (image at right, bottom, via Yann Le Mouel)
Lot 137, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sifnos, Greece, 1961, at 10800€
Lot 179, Bruce Davidson, East 100th Street, New York, 1966/2000, at 9000€ (image at right, top, via Yann Le Mouel)
Lot 212 Jean-Baptiste Huynh, Petit Garcon, 2002-2005, at 1800€
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Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
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Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction: Photographies Modernes et Contemporaines, November 9, 2010 @Yann Le Mouel

Yann Le Mouel kicks off the Paris auction season for photographs tomorrow with its various owner sale. As usual, the material is mostly French/European and nearly all at the lower end of the market. Overall, there are a total of 250 lots on offer, with a Total High Estimate of 464130€.

Here's the breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including 7500€): 245

Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): 401130€

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between 7500€ and 35000€): 5

Total Mid Estimate: 63000€

Total High Lots (high estimate above 35000€): 0

Total High Estimate: NA
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The top lot by High estimate is tied between three lots, all at 10000-15000€: lot 91, Andreas Feininger, The Photojournalist, 1955, lot 214, Kimiko Yoshida, La Mariée abelam au masque d'initiation baba, East Sepik, Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, Autoportrait, 2005, (image at right, bottom, via Yann Le Mouel) and lot 226, Peter Lindbergh, Naomi Campbell, Vogue US, Los Angeles, USA, 1990 (image at right, top, via Yann Le Mouel).
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Here is a short list of the photographers who are represented by four or more lots in the sale (with the number of lots in parentheses):

Robert Doisneau (16)

Henri Cartier-Bresson (9)

Andre Kertesz (8)

Izis (7)

Rene-Jacques (7)

David Bailey (6)
Elliott Eriwtt (5)

Francois Kollar (5)

Willy Ronis (5)

Nicolas Yantchevsky (5)

Edouard Boubat (4)

Raoul Hausmann (4)

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The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

Photographies Modernes et Contemporaines

November 9st

Yann Le Mouel

22, Rue Chauchat

75009 Paris

Auction Results: Photographie Ancienne, Moderne et Contemporaine, November 21, 2009 @Yann Le Mouel

With the new year now in full swing, we have a backup of auction results from the end of 2009 to report on in the next few days, ending with a detailed 2009 auction summary later in the week. Yann Le Mouel's various owner photography sale was scheduled during Paris Photo, but must have gotten lost in all the action. The buy-in rate was over 55% and the Total Sale Proceeds missed the Total Low Estimate by a wide margin.

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

Total Lots: 290
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: 425350€
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: 550550€
Total Lots Sold: 128
Total Lots Bought In: 162
Buy In %: 55.86%
Total Sale Proceeds: 186052€

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

Low Total Lots: 282
Low Sold: 128
Low Bought In: 154
Buy In %: 54.61%
Total Low Estimate: 450550€
Total Low Sold: 186052€

Mid Total Lots: 8
Mid Sold: 0
Mid Bought In: 8
Buy In %: 100.00%
Total Mid Estimate: 100000€
Total Mid Sold: 0€

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: 0€
Total High Sold: NA

The top lot by High estimate was lot 29, Eugene Cuvelier, Chêne et sous-bois, 1862, at 15000-18000€; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 158, Aaron Siskind, New York, South Street, 1947, at 6420€.

92.97% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of five surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 4, Kusakabe Kimbei, Geisha se levant les cheveux, 1880, at 934€
Lot 48, Andre Kertesz, Chez Mondrian, 1926/1984, at 3151€
Lot 108, Nicolas Yantchevsky, Pont levant de la rue de Crimee, vu du Quai de L'Oise, 1954, at 1868€
Lot 216, Eikoh Hosoe, Homme et femme, 1960, at 1459€
Lot 253, David Bailey, John Lennon et Paul McCartney, 1965, at 6303€

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction: Photographie Ancienne, Moderne et Contemporaine, November 21, 2009 @Yann Le Mouel

Yann Le Mouel has scheduled its big various owner photographs sale for this Saturday, smack in the middle of Paris Photo for maximum attention. The material is French/European heavy (as usual), with a definite tilt toward the lower end of the market. Overall, there are a total of 290 lots on offer, with a Total High Estimate of 550550€. (Catalog cover at right, via Yann Le Mouel.)

Here's the breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including 7500€): 282
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): 450550€

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between 7500€ and 35000€): 8
Total Mid Estimate: 100000€

Total High Lots (high estimate above 35000€): 0
Total High Estimate: NA

The top lot by High estimate is lot 29, Eugene Cuvelier, Chêne et sous-bois, 1862, at 15000-18000€.

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

Robert Doisneau (12)
Andre Kertesz (10)
Henri Cartier-Bresson (8)
Willy Ronis (6)
Nicolas Yantchevsky (6)
Gisele Freund (5)
Francois Kollar (5)
John Batho (4)
Edouard Boubat (4)
Bill Brandt (4)
Lucien Clergue (4)
Kusakabe Kimbei (4)
Karl Lagerfeld (4)
Rene-Jacques (4)

While there aren't too many great fits for our collection in this sale, we were interested by:

Lot 158 Aaron Siskind, New York, South Street, 1947
Lot 159 Aaron Siskind, Chicago, 1952

The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

Photographie Ancienne, Moderne et Contemporaine
November 21st

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction Results: Photographies des XIX & XXème, May 6, 2009 @Yann Le Mouel

Yann Le Mouel's recent Photography sale in Paris achieved the weakest results so far this year amongst the major sales: over 60% of the lots were bought in and total proceeds were meaningfully less than half the total low estimate. There are likely some after sale bargains floating around, given how poorly this sale performed.

The discouraging summary statistics are below:

Total Lots: 315
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: 480400€
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: 639800€

Total Lots Sold: 115
Total Lots Bought In: 200
Buy In %: 63.49%
Total Sale Proceeds: 172920€

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

Low Total Lots: 311
Low Sold: 112
Low Bought In: 199
Buy In %: 63.99%
Total Low Estimate: 571300€
Total Low Sold: 76200€

Mid Total Lots: 4
Mid Sold: 3
Mid Bought In: 1
Buy In %: 25.00%
Total Mid Estimate: 68500€
Total Mid Sold: 62300€

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: NA
Total High Sold: NA

90.43% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, with an amazing 50.43% above. Clearly, the estimates were set low to attract bidders.

There were a total of six surprises (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) in this sale. Here's the list: Lot 16, La Commune, 1871, at 1440€, lot 21, Film - Magie Du fer Blanc, 1935 at 1200€, lot 49, Francois Kollar, Papier découpé de Paul Iribe, 1928 at 3240€, lot 75, Eli Lotar, Rostre de crevette, 1929, at 4320€, lot 147, Milton Greene, Nellie Nyad, 1952 at 12000€ and lot 279 Lucien Clerge, Roseaux, 1965 at 1560€,

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

Auction: Photographies des XIX & XXème, May 6, 2009 @Yann Le Mouel

Yann Le Mouel kicks off the European auction season with a big sale of 19th and 20th century photography in Paris on May 6. We always enjoy the sales in London, Paris and all over Germany because they have a different mix of material than the US sales, available at generally more affordable prices; hidden gems and lesser known winners can often be found. There are a total of 315 lots on offer in this sale, with a total High estimate of 639800€; there are plenty of lower end lots to tempt bargain hunters, many with estimates below 1500€. (Catalog cover at right.)

Here's the breakdown:

Total Low lots (high estimate 7500€ or lower): 311

Total Low estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): 571300€

Total Mid lots (high estimate between 7500€ and 35000€): 4
Total Mid estimate: 68500€

Total High lots (high estimate over 35000€): 0

Total High estimate: NA

For our collection, we liked the following:

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Lot 68, Germaine Krull, Bruges, 1926

Lot 127, Walker Evans, White and Black building, West Street, New York, 1934/1960

Lot 140, Margaret Bourke-White, Steel, Industrial Scenes, Pittsburgh, 1936

Lot 246, Aaron Siskind, Chicago, 1957 (with a George Eastman House stamp)

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And while we very much like the Man Ray Magnolia Blossom on the cover, we already have a print of this image in our collection (here).

There is an easy to use online catalog (lot by lot and searchable) available via the link below.

Photographies des XIX & XXème

May 6, 2009

Yann Le Mouel

22, Rue Chauchat

75009 Paris

Auction Results Fall 2008: Saturday @Phillips, Bonhams & Butterfields, and Yann Le Mouel

It’s time for a results roundup from the auctions in the past few weeks. We’ll cover three sales: Saturday @Phillips (New York), Bonhams & Butterfields (New York/San Francisco) and Yann Le Mouel (Paris). All results include the buyer’s premium.

Saturday @Phillips

Total Lots: 524
Total Photo Lots: 111
Photo % (By Lot): 21.18%
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate (Photo Only): $235100
Pre Sale High Total Estimate (Photo Only): $334700

Total Photo Lots Sold: 74
Total Photo Lots Bought In: 37
Buy In %: 33.33%
Total Sale Proceeds: $794313
Total Sale Proceeds (Photo Only): $193688
Photo % (By Dollar): 24.38%

The photography in this sale performed just fine, with a generally satisfactory buy-in rate (given the times). I think this is a result of a solid and well chosen group of pictures and a focus on a different group of collectors. Additionally, the photo lots more than carried their weight (21.18% by lots, but 24.38% by proceeds). Unfortunately, on such a small base, it’s still only a few thousand dollars.

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

Low Total Lots: 110
Low Sold: 73
Low Bought In: 37
Buy In %: 33.64%
Total Low Estimate: $322700
Total Low Sold: $184313

Mid Total Lots: 1
Mid Sold: 1
Mid Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 0.00%
Total Mid Estimate: $12000
Total Mid Sold: $9375

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: 0
High Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 0.00%
Total High Estimate: $0
Total High Sold: $0

Not much to say here, beyond the numbers, as it was a low end sale by design, and performed adequately as such.

Bonhams & Butterfields

Total Lots: 222
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $1004800
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $1439000

Total Lots Sold: 111
Total Lots Bought In: 111
Buy In %: 50.00%
Total Sale Proceeds: $602580

Bonhams & Butterfields’ 50% buy-in rate was the highest among the US based houses this season, and the approximately $600000 in proceeds was pretty far below their expectations, so I’d guess that they’re disappointed with these results. Perhaps it was a function of being the last in line and buyers having already folded up their wallets and gone home.

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

Low Total Lots: 202
Low Sold: 100
Low Bought In: 102
Buy In %: 50.50%
Total Low Estimate: $965000
Total Low Sold: $397380

Mid Total Lots: 19
Mid Sold: 11
Mid Bought In: 8
Buy In %: 42.11%
Total Mid Estimate: $384000
Total Mid Sold: $151200

High Total Lots: 1
High Sold: 1
High Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 0.00%
Total High Estimate: $90000
Total High Sold: $54000

The numbers above are pretty ugly all around. Sitting in the room must have been painful.

Yann Le Mouel

Total Lots: 322
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: 649200 Euros
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: 872800 Euros

Total Lots Sold: 147
Total Lots Bought In: 175
Buy In %: 54.35%
Total Sale Proceeds: 295080 Euros

The numbers for Yann Le Mouel are actually a bit hard to parse through, as nearly 40 unexpected lots (?) were added the day of the sale (most were bought in), but only show up as results without estimates or lot information. In addition, the results are posted as hammer only, so I’ve grossed them up to include the premium. That said, no amount of massaging the numbers will make them look any better. This was a dismal outing, with less than half the lots selling and less than half the low estimate being realized as proceeds.

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

Low Total Lots: 310
Low Sold: 144
Low Bought In: 166
Buy In %: 53.55%
Total Low Estimate: 546800 Euros
Total Low Sold: 239880 Euros

Mid Total Lots: 10
Mid Sold: 3
Mid Bought In: 7
Buy In %: 70.00%
Total Mid Estimate: 206000 Euros
Total Mid Sold: 55200 Euros

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

Whether this sale is a bellwether for a softer European market is still unknown. We have the London and various German sales coming up in the next few weeks, so we’ll have to wait and see if this sale is at all representative of the overall tenor of the market. Since the quality of the material in this sale was weaker than that of the stronger upcoming sales, I'm not sure we can draw many conclusions from this data, except that the whole market has pulled back substantially.

Auction: Photographies, October 29, 2008 @Yann Le Mouel, Paris

With the New York season tailing off, we are now moving onward to the European fall season, with Yann Le Mouel (Paris) the first up. The material in this sale is heavy on European, particularly French, photographers (as to be expected), but generally, it is a broad-based sale of pieces from all over, with a significant amount of lower priced work available (many lots with a high estimate under $1000 Euros). There are a total of 322 lots up for sale, for a total high estimate of 872800 Euros.

Here's the breakdown (break points in Euros chosen to roughly match the break points used in dollars for the US sales):

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to 7500 Euros): 310
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): 546800 Euros

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between 7500 Euros and 35000 Euros): 10
Total Mid Estimate: 206000 Euros

Total High Lots (high estimate above 35000 Euros): 2
Total High Estimate: 120000 Euros

We are always struck when the European catalogues start to arrive at just how subtly different the photographic aesthetic is from the dominant American view (a large generalization I realize, but meaningful for us nevertheless). Seen over a handful of lots, it's easy to miss or gloss over; seen over hundreds of lots, across many photographers known and unknown, the difference in overall feel (or the "eye") becomes very much more pronounced.

Below are a handful of lots we find of interest:

• Lot 57 Albert Rudomine, Nu feminin, c1925
• Lot 78 Roger Parry, Nu, 1930
• Lot 108 Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Liba, Mexico, 1979
• Lot 116 Germaine Krull, Pont de Crimee, Paris, 1927/1960
• Lot 158 Margaret Bourke-White, Aluminum Rods & Bars in Stock, 1939 (image at right)

While we have monitored sales at Yann Le Mouel over the years, we have never actually been a successful bidder/buyer, so we would certainly welcome any comments from other collectors about working with the specialists there or their experience in getting a work paid for, packed and shipped back to the US.

Photographies
October 29th

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris