Christie’s sprinkled a range of strong photographic consignments, including many from the estate of the esteemed gallery owner Marian Goodman, throughout its many contemporary art sales last week in New York, with big results. A vintage Aleksandr Rodchenko collage got things started in the 20th Century Evening sale, only to be topped by a string of Gerhard Richter works in the sales that followed. The top photography outcome of the sales went to a Gerhard Richter strip, but there were plenty of positive surprises (from Richter, as well as Cindy Sherman and John Baldessari) to further juice the numbers. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography across all of the sales tallied up just over $8.6M, well 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 | 33 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3761000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $5574000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 33 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $8649462 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 9 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $47000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $75565 |
| Mid Total Lots | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $277000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $423037 |
| Total High Lots | 16 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $5250000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $8150860 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 722, Gerhard Richter, Strip, 2012, estimated at $800000-1200000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $1765300 (image above, via Christie’s).
90.91% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, there were a total of 10 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 47A, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Maquette for ‘War of the Future’, 1930, estimated at $450000-650000, sold at $1524000
Lot 13B, Gerhard Richter, 10. Dez. 99 [Firenze], 1999, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $241300
Lot 401, Gerhard Richter, Untitled (7.2.89), 1989, estimated at $60000-80000, sold at $330200
Lot 410, Gerhard Richter, Ella, 2014, estimated at $25000-35000, sold at $78740
Lot 411, Gerhard Richter, 20 February 2002, 2002, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $139700
Lot 720, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #54, 1980, estimated at $150000-250000, sold at $520700
Lot 721, Gerhard Richter, Kerze III, 1989, estimated at $70000-100000, sold at $368300
Lot 771, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #582, 2016, estimated at $70000-100000, sold at $215900
Lot 4, John Baldessari, Untitled, 2017, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $19050
Lot 17, John Baldessari, Hegel’s Cellar, 1986, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $24130
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (20th Century Evening), here (Marian’s Richters & 21st Century Evening), here (Post-War & Contemporary Art Day), and here (Breaking Ground).
