Led by a Richard Prince cowboy, the photography included in Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Art auctions in London performed solidly. Three positive surprises from Walid Raad helped push the Total Sale Proceeds (for photography) to the healthy middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 18 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1811000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £3099000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 22.22% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £2493125 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £89000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £231875 |
| Total High Lots | 10 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £3010000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £2261250 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 34, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1997, and lot 148, Gerhard Richter, Cage Grid (Complete Set), 2011, both estimated at £600000-800000. The Prince print was the top photography outcome of the sales at £1090000 (image above, via Sotheby’s), while the Richter set sold at £730000.
92.86% 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 180, Walid Raad, Let’s Be Honest, The Weather Helped (Venezuela, Romania, Italy, Iraq, Libya), 1998, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £41250
Lot 181, Walid Raad, Let’s Be Honest, The Weather Helped (Finland, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Belgium), 1998, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £47500
Lot 263, Walid Raad, Let’s Be Honest, The Weather Helped (Saudi Arabia, China, United States, Switzerland, NATO, United Kingdom, Israel), 1998, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £6850
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
