The photography included in the recent Contemporary Curated sale at Sotheby’s in London performed well. Led by a top lot Wolfgang Tillmans print, the Buy-In rate for photography stayed under 15%, leading to Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £550K), essentially right at the high end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 21 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £385000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £553000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 14.29% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £551880 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £15000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £31752 |
| Mid Total Lots | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £123000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £135828 |
| Total High Lots | 7 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 42.86% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £415000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £384300 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 58, Wolfgang Tillmans, Arms and Legs, 2014, estimated at £80000-120000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at £138600 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
88.89% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 57, Wolfgang Tillmans, Philip, Close-Up II, 1997-1999, estimated at £3000-5000, sold at £20160
Lot 117, Gerhard Richter, Cage 6, 2020, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £27720
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
