August Sander

German · 1876–1964 · Photographer

August Sander was a German portrait and documentary photographer. His first book Face of our Time was published in 1929. Sander has been described as "the most important German… (Wikipedia)

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203auction results2002–2026years recorded81%sold (164)$3.3kSign up free to seemedian price

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Record prices

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Porträts aus „Menschen des 20. JahrhundertsGrisebach · Nov 2019€949,000≈ $1,044,754≈ £810,893Sign up to see
The painter Heinrich HoerleLempertz · May 2017€59,520≈ $66,787≈ £51,999Sign up to see
Selbstbildnis (Self portrait), ColognePhillips · Nov 2013£30,000≈ $48,186≈ €36,054Sign up to see

August Sander’s highest prices recorded at auction, ranked in US dollars at each sale-date exchange rate and shown in the currency of the sale (with the buyer’s premium where the house publishes it).

Coming up at auction

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Listed from the auction houses’ own websites; estimates are the houses’ own, not results.

ArtSell has recorded 203 auction results for August Sander between 2002 and 2026, of which 164 sold (81%). Recorded sale prices range from $376Sign up free to see to $1MSign up free to see. The highest price recorded is $1MSign up free to see for Porträts aus „Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts at Grisebach in November 2019. The most common medium is photographs (196 lots). Most results come from Lempertz (125), Phillips (26) and Van Ham (26).

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203 results · page 1 of 6

Young farmers, Westerwald, from 'People of the 20th century', Germany 1914, 1914
Photograph · Paper · ed. 15/18
58.5 x 42.7 cm
OstLicht Photo Auction · May 28, 2026 · Lot 111
€12,000≈ $13,940≈ £10,400HammerSign up free to seeEst. €6,000–7,000View at OstLicht Photo Auction ↗
Self-portrait, from 'People of the 20th century', Cologne, Germany 1925, 1925
Photograph · Paper · ed. 2/12
58 x 43 cm
OstLicht Photo Auction · May 28, 2026 · Lot 112
€3,800≈ $4,414≈ £3,293HammerSign up free to seeEst. €6,000–7,000View at OstLicht Photo Auction ↗
Antlitz der Zeit. 60 Fotos deutscher Menschen', Transmare / Kurt Wolff Verlag, Munich 1929, 1929
Photograph
OstLicht Photo Auction · May 28, 2026 · Lot 113
€4,000≈ $4,647≈ £3,467HammerSign up free to seeEst. €7,000–8,000View at OstLicht Photo Auction ↗
Master Housepainter, 1920
Photograph
14.9 x 10 cm
Lempertz · Dec 3, 2025 · Lot 504
€3,150≈ $3,675≈ £2,761Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €3,000–4,000View at Lempertz ↗
Middle-Class Children, 1925
Photograph
25.8 x 18.2 cm
Lempertz · Dec 3, 2025 · Lot 505
€1,512≈ $1,764≈ £1,325Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €1,500–2,000View at Lempertz ↗
Untitled
Photograph · ed. 12/12
Sworders · Oct 7, 2025 · Lot 450
£1,800≈ $2,413≈ €2,068HammerSign up free to seeEst. £2,000–3,000View at Sworders ↗
Künstlerporträts, 1974
Photograph · Board
29 x 21cm
Van Ham · Jun 16, 2025 · Lot 65
€3,960≈ $4,583≈ £3,375Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €3,000–View at Van Ham ↗
The Sage, 1913
Photograph
25.6 x 19 cm (30.4 x 23.8 cm)
Lempertz · May 30, 2025 · Lot 637
€2,394≈ $2,715≈ £2,014Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €1,500–2,000View at Lempertz ↗
The painter (Heinrich Hoerle), 1928
Photograph
27 x 21.2 cm (30.2 x 23.8 cm)
Lempertz · May 30, 2025 · Lot 639
€1,638≈ $1,857≈ £1,378Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €1,500–2,000View at Lempertz ↗
Konditor (Pastry Chef), 1928
Photograph
11 x 8 in. (27.9 x 20.3 cm.)
Bonhams · Apr 3, 2025 · Lot 132
$5,120≈ £3,883≈ €4,614Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $4,000–6,000View at Bonhams ↗

August Sander photographs (196)

August Sander: quick facts

What is the highest price paid for a work by August Sander at auction?

$1,044,754Sign up free to see, for Porträts aus „Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts at Grisebach (November 2019) — the highest price in ArtSell’s records.

What is a typical auction price for August Sander?

The median sale price is $3.3kSign up free to see across 164 priced sales. Prices vary by medium, size and date — see the price chart & statistics.

How many works by August Sander have sold at auction?

164 of 203 recorded lots sold between 2002 and 2026.

Which auction houses sell August Sander?

Lempertz, Phillips and Van Ham account for the most recorded results. Lempertz · Phillips · Van Ham

About August Sander

August Sander was a German portrait and documentary photographer. His first book Face of our Time was published in 1929. Sander has been described as "the most important German portrait photographer of the early twentieth century". Sander's work includes landscape, nature, architecture, and street photography, but he is best known for his portraits, as exemplified by his series People of the 20th Century, where he aimed to show a cross-section of society during the Weimar Republic.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.