A Richard Prince cowboy print leaped its way across the £1 million mark in London last week, supporting the photography included in the recent Contemporary Art sales at Sotheby’s. A selection of mid-1980s prints from Andreas Gursky also provided a positive spark, and when the dust settled, the Total Sale Proceeds fell squarely in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 34 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £2140000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £2999000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 26 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Buy In % | 23.53% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £2566000 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £7000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £10000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 23.08% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £157000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £160000 |
| Total High Lots | 19 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 26.32% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £2835000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £2396000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 46, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1999, estimated at £700000-900000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at £1029000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 224, Andreas Gursky, Essen, 1984, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £22500
Lot 225, Andreas Gursky, Dusseldorf, Rhein, 1985, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £16250
Lot 227, Andreas Gursky, Yeilbohm, Dolomiten, 1987, estimated at £20000-30000, sold at £60000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
