Auction Results: Contemporary Curated, September 25, 2018 @Sotheby’s

A larger-than-usual Buy-In Rate (nearly 47%) proved to be the damper on the photographs included in the recent Contemporary Curated sale at Sotheby’s. With just 2 positive surprises to balance too many passes, the Total Sale Proceeds fell below the low end of aggregate pre-sale estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 32
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $874000
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $1228000
Total Lots Sold 17
Total Lots Bought In 15
Buy In % 46.88%
Total Sale Proceeds $864625

Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 2
Total Low Lots Sold 1
Total Low Lots Bought In 1
Low Buy In % 50.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $14000
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $5000
Mid Total Lots 24
Total Mid Lots Sold 13
Total Mid Lots Bought In 11
Mid Buy In % 45.83%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $594000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $465875
Total High Lots 6
Total High Lots Sold 4
Total High Lots Bought In 2
High Buy In % 33.33%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $620000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $393750

The top lot by High estimate was lot 235, Gerhard Richter, Untitled (Haus), 1990, estimated at $150000-200000; it was also the top photography outcome in the sale at $175000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).

94.12% 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 240, Lorna Simpson, Tense, 1991, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $75000

Lot 244, David Hockney, Graffiti Palace, 1982, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $52500

The complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: David Hockney, Gerhard Richter, Lorna Simpson, Sotheby's

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