The photography included in Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Art Day online sale performed solidly. Led by a Sigmar Polke overpainted photographic print (which found a buyer at $350K), the photographic offerings largely met expectations. The overall Buy-In rate for photography was low (under 15%), and while there were no positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $850K) were just 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 | 14 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $966000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1454000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 14.29% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $863750 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $19000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $11250 |
| Mid Total Lots | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $225000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $177500 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1210000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $675000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 23, Sigmar Polke, Quetta, Pakistan, 1974, estimated at $300000-500000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at $350000 (image above, via Sotheby’s.)
83.33% 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.
