While the withdrawal of the top lot in an auction can often signal an undercurrent of undease and lackluster interest heading into the sale, the photography included in Phillips’ recent 20th Century & Contemporary Art sales in New York rallied to overcome the last minute removal of the Andreas Gursky print in the Evening sale to perform to expectations. With slightly reduced horizons, the overall Buy-In rate came in at a respectable 20% and a few positive surprises helped to buoy the Total Sale Proceeds (for photography), which fell 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 | 25 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $946000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1303000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1065625 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $8000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $11875 |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 11.76% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $485000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $641250 |
| Total High Lots | 7 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 42.86% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $810000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $412500 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 360, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #64, 1980, estimated at $220000-280000; it did not sell. The photography top outcome of the sale was lot 361, John Baldessari, Airplanes/Parachutes, 1988, estimated at $80000-120000, sold at $193750 (image above, via Phillips.)
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 4 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate): (images above via Phillips)
Lot 142, Gerhard Richter, Ohne Titel (2.2.89), 1989, estimated at $30000-40000, sold at $93750
Lot 362, Hank Willis Thomas, Zero Hour (from Wayfarer), 2012, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $50000
Lot 370, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Lake Superior, Cascade River, 2003, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $81250
Lot 377, Andreas Gursky, Zurich Bankproject No. 8, 1997, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $65000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
