The post Brexit funk continued at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sales earlier this week, with higher priced photography struggling to find traction with buyers. With an overall Buy-In rate for photography over 35% and only one positive surprise (Gerhard Richter’s large edition photographic abstractions seem to be anxiety proof), the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the aggregate pre-sale range by a meaningful margin.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 17 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £604000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £844000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Buy In % | 35.29% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £383125 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £3000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 12.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £116000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £126875 |
| Total High Lots | 8 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £725000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £256250 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 167, Cory Archangel, PHOTOSHOP CS: 84 BY 66 INCHES, 300 DPI, RGB, SQUARE PIXELS, DEFAULT GRADIENT “BLUE, RED, YELLOW,” MOUSEDOWN Y=18200 X=1350, MOUSEUP Y=23400 X=18250, 2010, estimated at £150000-200000 (image in preview post); it did not sell. The top photographic outcome was lot 221, Anselm Kiefer, Cosmos + Demian, 2004, estimated at £100000-150000, sold at £125000 (image above via Sotheby’s)
90.91%% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was only 1 positive surprise in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 255, Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (P1), 2014, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £30000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
