It was an altogether dispiriting outing for the photographs included in the Contemporary Curated, Modern Discoveries, and Contemporary Discoveries sales at Sotheby’s in New York last week. On the top end, the four highest priced photography lots failed to find buyers, including a high priced print by Diane Arbus; on the bottom end, many of the photo lots were sold without reserve, leading to mostly completed sales, but largely below the pre-sale estimate ranges. Together, the combination led to dismal results, even with a deceivingly workmanlike overall Buy-In rate for photography under 17%. With no positive surprises to stanch the bleeding, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $140K) came in far below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 24 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $599000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $924000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $146685 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 12 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $65000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $23495 |
| Mid Total Lots | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $159000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $123190 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $700000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 27, Diane Arbus, A Family on Their Lawn One Sunday in Westchester, N. Y., 1968, estimated at $300000-500000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome was tied between two lots, both sold at $20320: lot 626, Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (House in the Road), 2002, and lot 628, Gerhard Richter, Ravine, 1997 (images above, via Sotheby’s.)
60.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive photographic surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Contemporary Curated), here (Modern Discoveries), and here (Contemporary Discoveries).
