The photography included in Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Art sales in New York hit all the right notes. The top lot Andreas Gursky print sold for over $1M, the overall Buy-In rate for photography was under 15%, and there were a couple of additional positive surprises to pump things up a bit more. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds came in near the top end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 36 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3488000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $4909000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 31 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Buy In % | 13.89% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $4658500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 4 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $25000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $22000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 13.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $464000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $488750 |
| Total High Lots | 17 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 17.65% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $4420000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $4147750 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 69, Andreas Gursky, Madonna I, 2001, estimated at $800000-1200000 (image in preview post). It was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $1035000.
93.55% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was a total of 2 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 430, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, W, March 2000, #12 from Cuba Libre, 2000, estimated at $30000-40000, sold at $125000
Lot 534, Thomas Struth, Baumgruppe bei Rutschwil No. 25, Winterthur, 1993, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $27500
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
