It hardly seems worth reporting on the results of an auction with only four photographs on offer, but the photo lots in the Contemporary Curated sale at Sotheby’s in New York last week were valuable enough to follow up. But the top lot John Baldessari print failed to find a buyer, leaving the top lot honors to a Cindy Sherman film still. When the dust settled, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $160K) came in 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 | 4 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $308000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $452000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $161925 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $12000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $9525 |
| 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 | $440000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $152400 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 261, John Baldessari, Arms & Legs (Specif, Elbows & Knees), Etc. (Part One): Couple Embracing (Blue), 2007, estimated at $200000-300000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 238, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #23, 1978, estimated at $60000-80000, sold at $107950 (image above, via Sotheby’s.)
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive photographic surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
