The photographic results from Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Curated sale in London were generally uneventful. The top lot Andreas Gursky print failed to find a buyer, but the overall Buy-In rate for photography came in under 30% and there were a couple of positive surprises, so the sale found some balance. When the tally was complete, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £270K) came in just 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 | 14 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £310500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £435000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 28.57% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £270256 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions). Given changing exchange rates, we have adjusted the break points between tiers to better match $10000 and $50000:
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Low Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £32000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £27686 |
| Mid Total Lots | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £153000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £152400 |
| Total High Lots | 3 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £250000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £90170 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 63, Andreas Gursky, Beijing, 2010, estimated at £80000-120000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 56, Gilbert & George, Autumn Faith, 1980, estimated at £50000-70000, sold at £69850 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
90.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 38, Nan Goldin, Heart Shaped Bruise, N.Y.C, 1980, estimated at £5000-7000, sold at £16510
Lot 62, Wolfgang Tillmans, Zimmerer, 1996, estimated at £15000-20000, sold at £44450
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
