Led by a Richard Prince cowboy which just covered its high estimate, the photography included in Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated sale last week delivered solid results. The overall Buy-In rate hovered near 23% and the Total Sale Proceeds came in near the high end of the pre sale range, giving Sotheby’s the top spot for highest aggregate photo-based sales during Armory week.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 35 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1119000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $541000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 27 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Buy In % | 22.86% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1467000 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 8 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Low Buy In % | 62.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $65000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $33750 |
| Mid Total Lots | 23 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 13.04% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $536000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $457500 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $940000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $975750 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 211, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 2003, estimated at $500000-700000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $701000 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s).
85.19% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there was only 1 surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 320, David LaChapelle, Jesus is my Homeboy: Last Supper, 2003, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $40000 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
It’s been such a very long time since Prince first purloined ad photographs. They seem to be separating out from even his wry intent let alone that of the original mythologising product promotion – and increasingly simply exist disengaged, slightly sad and as simply lovely photographs.