Auction Results: 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening and Day Sales, May 17 and 18, 2017 @Phillips

The contemporary photography included in Phillips’ recent 20th Century & Contemporary Art sales in New York generally performed to expectations. While there was some softness in the higher priced lots (as evidenced by the 41% Buy-In rate in the top price tier), there was just enough momentum to push the Total Sale Proceeds for photography safely into the middle of the pre-sale estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 31
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $1583000
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $2271000
Total Lots Sold 22
Total Lots Bought In 9
Buy In % 29.03%
Total Sale Proceeds $1778250

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 2
Total Low Lots Sold 2
Total Low Lots Bought In 0
Low Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $17000
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $48750
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 $314000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $312500
Total High Lots 17
Total High Lots Sold 10
Total High Lots Bought In 7
High Buy In % 41.18%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $1940000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $1417000

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 166, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1989, estimated at $250000-350000 (image in preview post). It was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $370000.

90.91% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate): (images above via Phillips)

Lot 22, Wolfgang Tillmans, quiet mind, 2005, estimated at $70000-100000, sold at $322000

Lot 235, Laurie Simmons, Bending Globe, 1991, estimated at $25000-35000, sold at $77500

Lot 285, Gerhard Richter, Haggadah (P2), 2014, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $43750

The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).

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Read more about: Gerhard Richter, Laurie Simmons, Wolfgang Tillmans, Phillips

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