The photography included in Phillips’ 20th Century & Contemporary Art sales in New York last week performed well. With no photography lots in the Evening sale, nearly all of the photo lots were relegated to the Afternoon session, where the top lot John Baldessari work found a buyer near the top of its estimate range. With a photographic Buy-In rate under 7% (plus two lots withdrawn) and a couple of positive surprises to add to the momentum, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $1.4M) came in above the high end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 16 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $862000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1283000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Buy In % | 6.25% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1445220 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| 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 | $16000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $30240 |
| Mid Total Lots | 9 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 11.11% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $257000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $343980 |
| Total High Lots | 5 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1010000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1071000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 350, John Baldessari, Two Figures (Red) and Two Figures (Green) in Different Environments (Food), 1990, estimated at $300000-500000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $478800 (image above, via Phillips).
93.33% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were three positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Phillips):
Lot 377, Louise Lawler, A.C.A.D.E.M.Y., 1987, estimated at $18000-22000, sold at $44100
Lot 384, Roe Ethridge, Rockaway (90th Street), 2008, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $13860
Lot 447, Francesco Vezzoli, Veruschka is Expected to be Here, 2001, estimated at $18000-25000, sold at $81900
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
