Buoyed by the continued strong demand for Gerhard Richter’s recent photographic prints of his painted abstractions, the photography included among Christie’s larger Post-War and Contemporary Art sales last week in London delivered better than expected results. Supported by a low Buy-In rate for photography (just 12.00%), the Total Sale Proceeds for photography came in above the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 25 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £913000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1273000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 22 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 12.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1301500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £168000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £306250 |
| Total High Lots | 13 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 7.69% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1105000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £995250 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 44, Gilbert & George, Frozen Youth, 1982, estimated at £220000-280000; it was also the top photography outcome of the two sales at £266500 (image in preview post).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Christie’s):
Lot 114, Gordon Matta-Clark, Splitting: Number 26 + 27, 1975, estimated at £18000-22000, sold at £56250 (image in preview post)
Lot 211, Gerhard Richter, Cape Grid Trial Proof 2, 2009, estimated at £10000-15000, sold at £47500
Lot 212, Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (P1), 2014, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £32500
Lot 215, Sigmar Polke, Untitled, 1982, estimated at £12000-18000, sold at £47500
Lot 309, Gerhard Richter, Haggadah (P2), 2014, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £30000
Lot 310, Gerhard Richter, Bouquet (P3), 2014, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £18750
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
