The top four Richard Price lots carried the day in the recent Bound to Fail and Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening, Morning, and Afternoon sales at Christie’s. Those four lots accounted for roughly $9.7M of the $12M Total Sale Proceeds, with major outcomes (for photography) at $3.5M, $2.8M, and $2.4M. The afternoon sale trailed off with a vengeance, with pass after photographic pass, driving the Buy-In statistics through the floor (to 46% overall), but the big lots had already cemented the aggregate success. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds fell in the middle of the pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 39 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $10775000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $15335000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 18 |
| Buy In % | 46.15% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $12064250 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| 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 | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 36.36% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $355000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $245000 |
| Total High Lots | 28 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 14 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $14980000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $11819250 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 57B, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 2000, estimated at $2500000-3500000 (image in preview post). It was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $3525000.
85.71% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 12A, Paola Pivi, Untitled (Donkey), 2003, estimated at $60000-80000, sold at $227000
Lot 115, Candida Höfer, Bibliotheque Nationale de France XXIII, 1997, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $30000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Bound to Fail), here (Evening), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
