Even with a handful of high priced passes, the massive load of photography available in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sales last week delivered a strong performance. The Cindy Sherman film stills from the Sender collection were particularly consistent, and Richard Prince continued his string of positive surprises. With an overall Buy-In rate just over 25%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography cleared the top end of the pre-sale estimate range with room to spare.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 58 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $10328000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $14792000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 43 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 15 |
| Buy In % | 25.86% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $15663375 |
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 | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $6000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $10000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 19 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 31.58% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $536000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $417500 |
| Total High Lots | 38 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 9 |
| High Buy In % | 23.68% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $14250000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $15235875 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 12, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #93, 1981, estimated at $2000000-3000000; it was also the top photography outcome at $3861000.
90.70% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 7 surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 3, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 2000, estimated at $1000000-1500000, sold at $3077000 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 13, Mike Kelley, Ah… Youth, 1990, estimated at $700000-900000, sold at $1925000 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 453, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #47, 1979, estimated at $70000-90000, sold at $209000
Lot 455, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #60, 1980, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $161000
Lot 456, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #29, 1979, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $245000
Lot 484, Roe Ethridge, Myla with Column, 2008, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $33750
Lot 510, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Madrid 1971), 1987-1988, estimated at $150000-2000000, sold at $545000 (image above, middle, via Sotheby’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
