The photography included in last week’s 20th Century and Post-War and Contemporary Art sales at Christie’s in New York performed admirably. The top lot Man Ray solarized nude found a buyer above its estimate range, and with a low overall Buy-In rate for photography (of just 5%) and a few positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography came in above $2.6M, above the top end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 20 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1573000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2330000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Buy In % | 5.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2607570 |
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 | $5000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $6930 |
| Mid Total Lots | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 10.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $285000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $496440 |
| Total High Lots | 9 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2040000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $2104200 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 18A, Man Ray, Untitled (Solarized Nude, Paris), 1929, estimated at $300000-500000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $630000 (image above, via Christie’s.)
89.47% 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 Christie’s):
Lot 108, Constantin Brancusi, La muse endormie, c1912, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $201600
Lot 317, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (War Without End), 2008, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $60480
Lot 337, Robert Mapplethorpe, Flowers (portfolio), 1987/1988, estimated at $70000-90000, sold at $201600
Lot 341, Nan Goldin, Nan and Brian in Bed, N.Y.C., 1983, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $63000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (20th Century Evening) and here (Post-War & Contemporary Art Day).
