It was a dismal outing for the photography found in Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated sale last week. With nine out of the top ten photo lots failing to find buyers and an overall Buy-In rate over 50%, it’s no surprise that the Total Sale Proceeds missed the pre-sale range by a wide margin.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 47 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $899000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1301000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 22 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 25 |
| Buy In % | 53.19% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $411875 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 9 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Low Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $65000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $33125 |
| Mid Total Lots | 32 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 16 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $796000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $378750 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 6 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $440000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 35, John Baldessari, National City (W, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, B), 1996-2009, estimated at $80000-120000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 148, James Casebere, Arcade, 1995, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $75000 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s).
77.27% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 3 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 148, James Casebere, Arcade, 1995, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $75000
Lot 155, AES+F, Last Riot 2, The Track, 2006, estimated at $8000-120000, sold at $25000
Lot 156, AES+F, Last Riot 2, Tondo #22, 2006, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $25000 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s).
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
