Sotheby’s did well with its limited photographic offerings in its Contemporary Art sales in London last week. With an impressive Buy-In rate just over 15%, it found buyers for 13 out of 14 of its top priced lots, with the evening sale Gursky topping the £1 million mark. Given this overall strength, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography easily bested the top end of the pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 26 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1071000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1565000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 22 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 15.38% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1970250 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £9000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £3750 |
| Mid Total Lots | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £141000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £146250 |
| Total High Lots | 14 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 7.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1415000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £1820250 |
The top photographic lot by High estimate was lot 49, Andreas Gursky, Shanghai, 2000, estimated at £400000-600000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at £1109000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
86.36% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was only 1 surprise in the two sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 389, Gerhard Richter, Haggadah (P2), 2014, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £60000 (image above, via Sotheby’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
