Auction Results: Ansel Adams and the American West: Photographs from the Center for Creative Photography, December 10, 2019 Christie’s

Every lot found a buyer at Christie’s recent single artist sale of prints by Ansel Adams from the collection of the Center for Creative Photography. And while full sell through is always a notable achievement, nearly 30% of the lots that sold did so below their estimate ranges and there were no positive surprises in the sale, so this material (mostly later prints) didn’t surprise anyone. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds topped $1M, just 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 85
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $670000
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $1003000
Total Lots Sold 85
Total Lots Bought In 0
Buy In % 0.00%
Total Sale Proceeds $1075750

Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 46
Total Low Lots Sold 46
Total Low Lots Bought In 0
Low Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $320000
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $255250
Mid Total Lots 39
Total Mid Lots Sold 39
Total Mid Lots Bought In 0
Mid Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $683000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $820500
Total High Lots 0
Total High Lots Sold NA
Total High Lots Bought In NA
High Buy In % NA
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $0
Total Proceeds from High Lots $0

The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 3, Ansel Adams, Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley, California, 1938/1978-1984, and lot 41, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941/1973-1977, both estimated at $30000-50000. The Moonrise print was the top outcome of the sale at $75000 (image above via Christie’s), while the Clearing Winter Storm print sold at $60000.

70.59% 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.

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