The few photography lots included the contemporary art sales at Christie’s in London last week generally met expectations. The top lot Barbara Kruger print sold within its estimate range, and the overall Buy-In rate for photography came in below 20%, leading to Total Sales Proceeds for photography (of roughly £810K) that tallied up in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 11 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £628000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £967000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 18.18% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £812700 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| 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 | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £127000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £138600 |
| Total High Lots | 5 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £840000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £674100 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 117, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (We Won’t Be Our Own Best Enemy), 1986-1987, estimated at £300000-500000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at £327600 (image above, via Christie’s.)
77.78% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just one positive surprise in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Christie’s):
Lot 59, Ahmed Mater, Magnetism (Triptych), 2021, estimated at £50000-70000, sold at £189000
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (20th/21st Century: London Evening) and here (Post-War and Contemporary Art Day).
