NEW YORK.-At Sotheby's, Property from the Estate of Richard Avedon, the acclaimed American photographer famous for his fashion and portrait photographs of models and prominent cultural figures, brought a total of $652,020* (est. $275/400,000) and was 99.5% by value and 98.6% by lot. The top lot of the offering, comprised of prints, paintings, drawings, antiquities and unique furniture and decorations, was a Victorian beechwood adjustable platform large artist's easel, 1880-1900, which sold for $28,800 to a bidder in the room (est. $3/5,000), five times above its high presale estimate.

Tim Hamilton, specialist for the sale, said: "It's clear that Mr. Avedon's accomplished eye in collecting had a good deal to do with the success of the sale today-our buyers recognized that his unique taste and style were in concert with their own. Objects which were either hard to come by such as the 19th century easel and the Japanese ivory snake, things made for Mr. Avedon, or things obviously of personal importance to him and his career, held sway in the auction room this morning."

Strong prices were achieved for furniture, including a fine English arts and crafts Gothic-inspired oak bedstead, circa 1880, which achieved $25,200 (est. $6/8,000), a large continental baroque style walnut long table, which sold for $16,800 (est. $1,200/1,500) to a phone bidder and a weathered hardwood table and a set of six weathered chairs, 20th century, which brought for $15,600 (est. $2/3,000).

A number of eclectic objects from Mr. Avedon's collection were particularly sought after, including a group of twenty bottle stoppers made of ivory or bone animal-forms - the subject of very active bidding - which ultimately sold for $28,800 (est. $2/3,000) to a phone bidder. Competition for a Japanese ivory articulated model of a snake, Meiji period, was also strong; the model commanded $16,800 (est. $1,200/1,500), more than fifteen times the high estimate.

Among the works of art that sold particularly well were Pablo Picasso's Tete de Jeune Femme, which sold for $22,800 (est. $10/15,000); Edward Ruscha's Cheese Mold Standard with Olive, 1969, a silkscreen printed in colors, which brought $22,800 (est. $12/16,000); and Édouard Vuillard's Intérieur aux Tentures Roses I, 1899, signed, a lithograph printed in colors, which achieved $16,800 (est. $6/8,000). Rounding out the sale was a number of John James Audubon's Quadrupeds, highlighted by American Bison or Buffalo, which sold for $14,400 (est. $7/9,000).