The various owner photography sale at Christie’s in Paris earlier this week was originally scheduled to coincide with the annual gathering of collectors at Paris Photo. But with the fair on hold due to the pandemic, we might have assumed the sale would falter, but surprisingly, it still largely met expectations. The top lot Helmut Newton print soared to €400K (more than double its high estimate), and there were a number of positive surprises to add to the momentum. While the overall Buy-In rate came in above 30%, the Total Sale Proceeds (of just under €2.1M) came in above the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 129 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1824800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €2618700 |
| Total Lots Sold | 90 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 39 |
| Buy In % | 30.23% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €2099750 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 38 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 28 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Low Buy In % | 26.32% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €198700 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €175375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 76 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 52 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 24 |
| Mid Buy In % | 31.58% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €1350000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €865625 |
| Total High Lots | 15 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €1070000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €1058750 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 35, Helmut Newton, Elsa Peretti as a Bunny, Costume by Halston, New York, 1975/later, estimated at €120000-180000. It was also the top outcome of the sale at €400000 (image above, via Christie’s).
94.44% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 8 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 10, Nan Goldin, French Chris at the drive-in, N.J., 1979, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €13750
Lot 35, Helmut Newton, Elsa Peretti as a Bunny, Costume by Halston, New York, 1975/later, estimated at €120000-180000, sold at €400000
Lot 38, Mark Seliger, Barack Obama, The White House, 2010, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €11250
Lot 58, Beatrice Helg, Profondeurs VI, 2007, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4750
Lot 69, Peter Lindbergh, Nadja Auermann, Paramount Studios, Hollywood, 1996, estimated at €8000-12000, sold at €24375
Lot 112, Mimmo Jodice, Anamnesi, 2014, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €18750
Lot 118, Peter Beard, Boran Woman (patient), Marsabit hospital, Kenya, 1968/1998, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €16250
Lot 129, Nick Brandt, Giraffes in Evening Light, 2002, estimated at €3000-4000, sold at €13750
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
