Strong early Photography
For the first time, the “Photography” auction this season was not accompanied by a printed catalogue –this did not, however, diminish the international collector’s desire to buy in any way. The highlight of the regular Photography auction was Chargesheimer’s abstract “Lichtgrafik. Monoskripturen”, an album with ten unique photoworks from the year 1961. The German trade had to invest € 25,000 for Example 9 from an edition of 25 unique works (+ 5 A.P.), more than double the estimate (lot 523).
The NASA images of the first manned lunar landings belong to photography which has shaped the collective visual memory – these were offered in the Photography auction (lot 576) and in the subsequent Evening Sale of Contemporary Art (lot 97). The first, a 48.2 x 38 cm vintage print “Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin descends to the Lunar Surface” from 1969 sold to a private bidder for € 18,700 – the same result as the two prints in the Evening Sale, lot 97, “The Moon, Apollo 8” and “First Footprint on the Lunar Surface, Apollo 11”.
Good results were seen for Heinrich Kühn and Léonard Misonne (up to € 5,000) as well as photography by Albert Renger-Patzsch (“Zeche Germania, Dortmund-Marten” from 1935 for € 7,000, lot 474). Berenice Abbott’s shot of a small local shop, “Christopher Street Shop, New York” from 1948 made € 8,750 (lot 502), whilst André Kertész’ image of the same shop taken independently from Abbott two years later, sold for € 7,500 (“Christopher Street, New York, lot 501). Thomas Hoepker’s colour photograph of his famous view of the Manhattan silhouette taken on 11 September 2001 changed hands for € 8,000 (lot 598).
Contemporary Art + Photography
The highlights of the Contemporary Photography, as is often the case, came from the Düsseldorf photography school. Elger Esser, one of its internationally renowned protagonists, was present with the light-filled sea piece “Chatressac 1” from 1997; the C-print was sold for €12,500 (lot 68).