The photography included in Phillips recent 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening and Day sales generally performed to expectations, with one notable exception. A photographic collage made by Joseph Cornell soared to nearly 6X its pre-sale estimate; what makes that outcome all the more surprising is that the same collage failed to sell against a slightly smaller estimate in a sale at Sotheby’s in 2014. The rest of the outcomes were more predictable, with an overall Buy-In rate for photography under 30% and Total Sale Proceeds that fell in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 24 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1928000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2679000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Buy In % | 29.17% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2142000 |
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 | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 18.18% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $329000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $441500 |
| Total High Lots | 13 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 38.46% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2350000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1700500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 10, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #5A, 1977, estimated at $500000-700000 (image in preview post). It was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $461000.
76.47% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was only 1 positive surprise in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 167, Joseph Cornell, Untitled (HÔTEL DE L’ÉTOILE, SUZANNE MILLER), circa 1960, estimated at $35000-45000, sold at $269000 (image above via Phillips).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
