The single owner sale of photography drawn from the collection of Leland Hirsch cleared the $2 million dollar mark at Sotheby’s in New York earlier this week. With the top lot Richard Avedon print selling for $375K, a reasonable overall Buy-In rate of roughly 15%, and a couple of positive surprises to encourage the action, the Total Sale Proceeds fell squarely in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 51 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1653000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2521000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 43 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Buy In % | 15.69% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2002750 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 15 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $84000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $99000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 22 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 18.18% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $617000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $503750 |
| Total High Lots | 14 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 28.57% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1820000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1400000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 27, Richard Avedon, Dovima with Elephants, Evening Dress by Dior, Cirque d’Hiver, Paris, 1955/later, estimated at $300000-500000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $375000 (image above via Sotheby’s).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 1, Herb Ritts, Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood, 1989, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $150000
Lot 50, Steven Meisel, Madonna Hitching (from Sex), 1992, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $16250
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
