The upcoming First Open sale at Christie’s in London offers a meager gathering of photography. These early season, lower end mixed contemporary art sales are always an eclectic mix, but this particular session is lighter than usual on notable photographs. The sale is led by a secondary Gilbert & George and filled in with images by Twombly, Dibbets, Abramovic, and others. Overall, there are a total of 15 lots of photography available in the sale, with a Total High Estimate for photography of £215000.
Here’s the statistical breakdown:
| Preview Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including £5000) | 4 |
| Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) | £14000 |
| Total Mid Lots (high estimate between £5000 and £25000) | 9 |
| Total Mid Estimate | £121000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above £25000) | 2 |
| Total High Estimate | £80000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate is lot 76, Gilbert & George, Holy Piss, 1996, estimated at £35000-45000 (image above, via Christie’s).
Here’s the very short list of photographers with two or more lots in the sale, along with the number of lots on offer:
| Multiple Lots For Sale | |
|---|---|
| Cy Twombly | 2 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 15, Cy Twombly, Lemon, Gaeta, 2008, estimated at £8000-12000
Lot 56, Marina Abramovic, Balkan Baroque I, 1997, estimated at £10000-15000
Lot 155, Oscar Tuazon, Untitled, 2012, estimated at £5000-7000
The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.
