Aided by a Barbara Kruger photo on vinyl that soared more than $200K over its estimate, Sotheby’s’ thin Armory Week photography offerings easily worked their way into the pre-sale estimate range. While there were more lots than usual that sold below their estimates and few positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds still came in near $1 million.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 22 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $710800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1085200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Buy In % | 22.73% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $980250 |
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 | $1200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $750 |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 23.53% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $464000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $311875 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $620000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $667625 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 275, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our Prices Are Insane!), 1987, estimated at $200000-300000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at $502000.
70.59% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was only 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 226, Richard Prince, Upstate, 1995-1999, estimated at $18000-25000, sold at $50000 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
