The last photography auction of the year occurred at Bonhams in New York earlier this week, bringing prints from the collection of photography dealer Peter Fetterman to a holiday-shopping audience. With plenty of distractions this time of year, the results were predictably soft, with an overall Buy-In rate nearing 50%. With just two low priced surprises to pick up the slack, the Total Sale Proceeds came in at less than $350K, 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 | 124 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $564000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $833000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 64 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 60 |
| Buy In % | 48.39% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $340848 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 116 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 61 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 55 |
| Low Buy In % | 47.41% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $639000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $305623 |
| Mid Total Lots | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 57.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $134000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $35225 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 58 Irving Penn, Guedras in the Wind, Morocco, 1971, estimated at $40000-60000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 107, Edward Curtis, Canyon de Chelly, 1904, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $13825 (image above, via Bonhams).
96.88% 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 Bonhams):
Lot 14, Thurston Hopkins, La Dolce Vita, Knightsbidge, London, 1953/later, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6325
Lot 27, Pentti Sammallahti, Koylio, Finland, 1973, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3187
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
