Phillips opened the 2014 auction year with its Contemporary Art sales earlier this week in London, and the photography on offer performed in a workmanlike manner. The soaring run up of Zhang Huan’s Family Tree to nearly £300000 (more than three times its pre sale high estimate) provided the only real eye catching outcome in a pair of auctions whose Total Sale Proceeds fell smack in the middle of the pre sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 30 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £820000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1229000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 9 |
| Buy In % | 30.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1076500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | NA |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Mid Buy In % | 41.18% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £239000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £117500 |
| Total High Lots | 13 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 15.38% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £990000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £959000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 9, Andreas Gursky, Ocean IV, 2010, estimated at £300000-500000; it was also the top outcome of the two sales at £338500.
76.19% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of two surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 202, Zhang Huan, Family Tree, 2000, estimated at £60000-80000, sold at £290500 (image above left, via Phillips)
Lot 244, Sante D’Orazio, Pamela Anderson (Profile #6), 2000, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £18750 (image above right, via Phillips)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
