Aenne Biermann Leads Bonhams $400,100 'Photographs Now The Collector's Edition' Auction

A work by Aenne Biermann was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Photographs Now The Collector's Edition' auction on July 18.

• The sale totaled $400,100, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 131 works sold totaling $400,100.
• Estimates totaled: $496,100 (low) and $743,400 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 61% of the original 214 lots announced.

The star lot was: Aenne Biermann, 'Strasse' (Avenue des Champs-Élysées) (1931), which sold for $28,200, 1026% above its $2,500 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 1128% above its low estimate. Nina Katchadourian, Lavatory Self-Portrait in the Flemish Style #18-19 (Diptych) (2011), sold for $6,144 ($500 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 34 works, or 26%, sold above their high estimate.
• 47 works, or 36%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 50 works, or 38%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

83 works were bought-in, including: Hiroshi Sugimoto, La Paloma, Encinitas (1993), estimated at $18,000 (low) to $28,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.