With much less top quality photography on offer in its Contemporary Art sales last week than its competitors, it’s no wonder that Phillips’ results were more lackluster. With very few positive surprises (2 in total) and an overall Buy-In rate slightly over 30%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography just covered the low end of the 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 | $1559000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2287000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 25 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Buy In % | 30.56% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1630025 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Low Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $43000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $36875 |
| Mid Total Lots | 20 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Mid Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $579000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $417400 |
| Total High Lots | 11 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 36.36% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1665000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1175750 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 39, John Baldessari, Green Gown (Death), 1989, estimated at $400000-600000; it was also the top photography outcome at $389000.
Only 72.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 253, Carrie Mae Weems, The Kitchen Table Series: Untitled (Eating Lobster), 1990, estimated at $8000-10000, sold at $27500 (image above, via Phillips)
Lot 263, Catherine Opie, Untitled #7 (Surfers), 2003, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $293000 (image in preview post)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
