The results of Sotheby’s various owner Photographs sale earlier this week in New York were a bit of a good news/bad news story. The bad news was that the massive collection of Edward Weston images printed by Cole Weston didn’t sell, thereby torpedoing the numbers for the auction (given its estimate of $2-3 million). The good news was that if we strip out that one disappointing lot, the sale performed admirably well, with a total of 19 positive surprises and Total Sale Proceeds near the top of the range (again stripping out the EW/CW lot). While the Buy-In rate came in over 30%, those positive surprises were broad based and helped the mid and high end lots to deliver solid aggregate results. In this case, the quality of the material seems to have attracted plenty of eager buyers.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 236 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $5738000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $8654000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 163 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 73 |
| Buy In % | 30.93% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $5547188 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 103 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 65 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 38 |
| Low Buy In % | 36.89% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $833000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $571188 |
| Mid Total Lots | 111 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 80 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 31 |
| Mid Buy In % | 27.93% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $2501000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $2507000 |
| Total High Lots | 22 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 18.18% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $5320000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $2469000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 108, Edward Weston/Cole Weston, The Master Set (548 photographs), 1918-1949/1958-2003, estimated at $2000000-3000000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 126, Man Ray, Lee Miller, c1930, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $455000 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s).
90.80% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 19 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 1, Ansel Adams, Oak Tree, Sunset City, Sierra Foothills, California, 1962/1973-1977, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $31250
Lot 13, Ansel Adams, Taos Pueblo, 1930, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $81250
Lot 34, Edward Weston, Artichoke – Halved, 1930, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $173000 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 58, Lewis Hine, Mechanic at Steam Pump in Electric Power House, 1921, estimated at $70000-100000, sold at $269000 (image featured in preview post)
Lot 80, Alfred Stieglitz, Dorothy True, 1919/1946, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $149000 (image above, middle, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 81, Alfred Stieglitz, Hand and Ford Car, 1933/1946, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $125000
Lot 94, Harry Callahan, Eleanor (Double Exposure), 1948, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $100000
Lot 101, Robert Adams, Longmont, Colorado, 1979-1982/1992, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $68750
Lot 102, Robert Adams, Fort Collins, Colorado, 1976/1996, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $37500
Lot 125, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Stockholm, 1930, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $112500
Lot 126, Man Ray, Lee Miller, c1930, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $455000 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 148, Ray Metzker, Europe: Frankfurt, 1961/Later, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $22500
Lot 149, Ray Metzker, Selected Philadelphia Images, 1963 and 1981/Later, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $28125
Lot 162, Francesca Woodman, Untitled (Providence, Rhode Island, Self-Portrait, Kneeling), 1975-1976, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $68750
Lot 163, Francesca Woodman, Untitled (Providence, Rhode Island, Self-Portrait with Glass), 1976, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $149000
Lot 164, Francesca Woodman, Untitled (Horseshoe Crab, Providence), 1976, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $28125
Lot 173, Robert Adams, Looking Toward Los Angeles Across San Timoteo Canyon, San Bernadino County, California (Redlands), 1978/1982, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $31250
Lot 175, Robert Adams, Boulder County, Colorado, 1973/1983, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $28125
Lot 206, Robert Mapplethorpe, Irises, 1988, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $50000
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Photographs) and here (EW/CW).
