When every photography lot in the top price tier sells and the entire Evening Sale goes white glove, a moment of near perfect auction house bliss descends. This unlikely double rainbow occurred at last week’s Evening and Day sales of Contemporary Art at Phillips in London. Against a prevailing funk that had descended over the recent photography sales in New York, these sales performed admirably, with an overall Buy-In rate for photography under 20% and complete sell through for the top end lots. While there were few positive surprises, they weren’t really needed in this case – even without an unexpected bump, the Total Sale Proceeds found their way to the top end of the pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 31 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1515000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £2198000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 25 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Buy In % | 19.35% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1958625 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £3000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £2500 |
| Mid Total Lots | 16 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 37.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £240000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £164125 |
| Total High Lots | 14 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1955000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £1792000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 4, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1980-1986, estimated at £500000-700000; it was also the top photography outcome of the two sales at £602500 (image in preview post).
96.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above via Phillips):
Lot 143, Adam Fuss, Untitled, 1990, estimated at £10000-15000, sold at £43750
Lot 196, Carol Bove, Strawberries Need Rain (After Dark Photo Collage), 2003, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £20000 (image in preview post)
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
