For the third time in a month, the top photography lot at a major contemporary art sale was withdrawn. This time the missing headliner was a Barbara Kruger work at Phillips’ 20th Century & Contemporary Art sales in New York, creating an unmistakable pattern of softness in recent market history. With the Kruger work gone, the top lot honors fell to a Wolfgang Tillmans abstraction, which sold above its estimate range. In general, the photography included in the sales performed solidly, with a Buy-In rate under 25% and a few positive surprises. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just over $1M) fell squarely 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 | 29 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $880000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1264000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 22 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Buy In % | 24.14% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1009181 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 4 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $25000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $41580 |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 35.29% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $339000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $318701 |
| Total High Lots | 8 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 12.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $900000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $648900 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 508, Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 206, 2012, estimated at $180000-220000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $226800 (image above, via Phillips).
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 500, Lutz Bacher, JOKES, Barry Goldwater (It’s a Great Country), 1987, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $35280
Lot 514, Dawoud Bey, Monique II, 1999, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $26460
Lot 517, Kehinde Wiley, Two works: (i) After El Greco’s (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) The Annunciation; (ii) After George Romney’s Elizabeth Warren as Hebe, 2009, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $47880
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
