Auction Results: Contemporary Art Day Sale, July 30, 2020 @Sotheby’s London

The photography results from the recent Contemporary Art Day Sale at Sotheby’s in London were keyed on two Cindy Sherman prints, and since both of those high priced lots didn’t find buyers, the rest of the sale (at least photographically) was left hanging. A Gilbert and George print took the top lot honors, but with no positive surprises to pick up the slack, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just £200K) fell well below the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 8
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate £341000
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate £491000
Total Lots Sold 5
Total Lots Bought In 3
Buy In % 37.50%
Total Sale Proceeds £221875

Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):

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 3
Total Mid Lots Sold 3
Total Mid Lots Bought In 0
Mid Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots £31000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots £28125
Total High Lots 5
Total High Lots Sold 2
Total High Lots Bought In 3
High Buy In % 60.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots £460000
Total Proceeds from High Lots £193750

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 850, Cindy Sherman, Untitiled #196, 1989, estimated at £100000-150000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 873, Gilbert & George, Hid, 2005, estimated at £50000-70000, sold at £106250 (image above, via Sotheby’s).

100.00% 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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