It was an unimpressively weak outing for the photography included in Phillips’ Contemporary Art sales in London last week. Seven out of the top ten photography lots failed to sell, driving the overall Buy-In rate for photography up near 50%, and the Total Sale Proceeds for photography missed the low end of the estimate range by a wide margin.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 29 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £927000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1305000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 14 |
| Buy In % | 48.28% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £759025 |
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 | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | NA |
| Mid Total Lots | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £190000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £119375 |
| Total High Lots | 17 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 10 |
| High Buy In % | 58.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1115000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £639650 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 8, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Look and listen), 1996, at £200000-300000; it was also the top photography outcome across two sales at £253250.
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds above or in the estimate range, but that statistic is a little deceiving, since only 2 photography lots sold above the range and there were no positive surprises (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
