The results for the photography included in Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated sale in London earlier this week were uneven but ultimately largely to form. One lot sold for just £63, while a nude by Torbjørn Rødland sold for more than 11X its high estimate, so the outcomes were all over the map. In the end, the overall Buy-In rate for photography came in at just over 20%, and with a few positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds fell solidly within the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 48 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £224800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £321000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 38 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Buy In % | 20.83% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £248026 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Low Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £59000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £38276 |
| Mid Total Lots | 23 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Mid Buy In % | 21.74% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £262000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £209750 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | NA |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 138, Paul McCarthy, Fred Flintstone (from the Propo series), 1992, estimated at £18000-25000 (image in preview post). It was also the top photography outcome of the sale at £22500.
57.89% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 4 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 119, Eileen Quinlan, Smoke & Mirrors #99, 2006, estimated at £1500-2000, sold at £4000
Lot 129, Torbjørn Rødland, Nudist No. 8, 1999, estimated at £500-700, sold at £8125
Lot 144, Malick Sidibé, Regardez-Moi, 1962/2000, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £15000
Lot 200, Anthony Goicolea, Bed Wetters, 2000, estimated at £1000-1500, sold at £3250
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
