With just a handful of photographs included in the recent 20th Century to Now sale at Phillips in London, it’s no surprise that the photo results were highly dependent on the performance of the few top lots. And with works by Gilbert & George and John Baldessari both failing to sell, the rest of the statistical information is forgettable at best. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £220K) fell well below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 5 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £400000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £560000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £219710 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £35000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £48260 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £525000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | 171450 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 39, Gilbert & George, Dusty Corners No. 17, 1975, estimated at £150000-200000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 61, Wolfgang Tillmans, Ten Works: (i) Blautopf, landscape; (ii) Fire Island; (iii) Fische; (iv) Freischwimmer 13; (v) Lightning I; (vi) Mental Picture#105; (vii) paper drop (white) c; (viii) Pfingstrosen; (ix) Venus Drop; (x) Venus Transit, Clouds, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, estimated at £75000-95000, sold at £95250 (image above, via Phillips).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
