The photography nestled into Phillips’ two Contemporary Art sales last week in London generally performed to expectations, except for the top lot from Richard Prince which failed to sell and scuttled the overall results. The overall Buy-In rate for photography was just under a respectable 23%, but with few positive surprises to make up for the cowboy no show, the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 48 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1148000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1750000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 37 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Buy In % | 22.92% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £874875 |
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 | 35 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 27 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Mid Buy In % | 22.86% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £480000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £399375 |
| Total High Lots | 13 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 23.08% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1270000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £475500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 12,Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1980-1984, estimated at £300000-500000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 33, Thomas Struth, Museo del Prado 5, Madrid, 2005/2006, estimated at £150000-250000, sold at £134500 (image above, left, via Phillips).
81.08% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 2 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 163, Vanessa Beecroft, US Navy Seals, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, vb39.290.te, 2000, estimated at £15000-20000, sold at £41250 (image above, middle, via Phillips)
Lot 177, Paola Pivi, Untitled (zebras), 2003, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £35000 (image above, right, via Phillips)
