Lee Friedlander Leads Rago's $1m Single-Collection Photographic Auction

A work by Lee Friedlander was the headline sale at Rago Arts & Auction Center 'Photographic Masterworks from an Important Private Collection' auction on December 11 in Lambertville.

• The sale totaled $1.15m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 46 works sold totaling $1.15m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.08m (low) and $1.53m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 96% of the original 48 lots announced.

The star lot was: Lee Friedlander, The Little Screens (1970), which sold for $228,600, 8% below its $250,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 323% above its low estimate. Erwin Olaf, The Ice Cream Parlour (from the Rain series) (2003), sold for $12,700 ($3,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 20 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
• 11 works, or 24%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 15 works, or 33%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

2 works were bought-in, including: Irving Penn, Two Liqueurs (1963), estimated at $100,000 (low) to $150,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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