Generally lackluster photographic material and plenty of sales executed below the pre-sale estimate range didn’t seem to damper the overall mood at the Contemporary Curated sale at Sotheby’s in London last week. Even with these negatives, the higher end lots performed decently well in this mop up auction, easily carrying the Total Sale Proceeds to the middle 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 | £468000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £669000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 33 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 15 |
| Buy In % | 31.25% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £527377 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 12 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Low Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £46000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £18001 |
| Mid Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Mid Buy In % | 34.48% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £313000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £209376 |
| Total High Lots | 7 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 14.29% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £310000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £300000 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 36, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #105, 1982 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s), and lot 210, Vik Muniz, Norms on Fire, After Ed Ruscha (from Pictures of Cars), 2008 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s), both estimated at £40000-60000; the Muniz print was the top outcome of the sale at £81250, while the Sherman print sold for £71875.
Only 63.64% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
