The last time a photograph sold at auction for more than $3M was 2017, so the fact that the results from Christie’s recent 21st Century Evening Sale included two photographs over $3M, and a total of five above $1M, was certainly exciting news. The quality and scarcity of the available works was the driver of the frothy bidding: three Cindy Sherman centerfolds from 1981 were on offer, as was a Richard Prince cowboy and an early Barbara Kruger work. One of the Shermans ultimately took the top lot honors at $3150000, just ahead of the Prince cowboy. And the Kruger work set a new auction record for the artist, at $1170000. When the dust settled, it was a white glove sale, for both photography and overall, with Total Sale Proceeds for photography of over $11M, coming in 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 | 5 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $7000000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $10700000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $11010000 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High 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 | 0 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | NA |
| Mid Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $0 |
| 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 | $10700000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $11010000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at $2000000-3000000: lot 11A, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, and lot 12A, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981; lot 12A was the top outcome of the sale at $3150000 (image above, via Christie’s), while lot 11A sold at $2070000.
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). That said, since all of the lots topped $1M in proceeds, the results for all five lots are listed below (images above, via Christie’s, in order):
Lot 11A, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, estimated at $2000000-3000000, sold at $2070000
Lot 12A, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, estimated at $2000000-3000000, sold at $3150000
Lot 13A, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, estimated at $1000000-1500000, sold at $1590000
Lot 16A, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your Manias Become Science), 1981, estimated at $500000-700000, sold at $1170000
Lot 25A, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1997, estimated at $1500000-2500000, sold at $3030000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
