The results for the photography included in the contemporary sales at Sotheby’s in New York last week were solid. With no photo lots in the Now or Contemporary Art evening sales (and no photographs included in the parallel Modern Art sales either), the available photography settled into the Day sale, where it performed admirably. The top lots (from Cindy Sherman and John Baldessari) both found buyers within their estimate ranges, and more broadly the included photography sold through entirely (the Buy-In rate was a tidy 0.00%), with 1 positive surprise (an overpainted Gerhard Richter photo) to further help the numbers. When the tally was done, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $1.2M) came in near the top end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 10 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $930000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1330000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1270635 |
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 | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $180000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $254635 |
| Total High Lots | 5 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1150000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1016000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at $250000-350000: lot 253, John Baldessari, Two Groups (One Warm/One Cool) In Different Environments, 1990, and lot 550, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #420, 2004; the Sherman print was the top photography outcome of the sale at $330200 (image above, via Sotheby’s), while the Baldessari work sold at $254000.
90.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 234, Gerhard Richter, 11. März 2000 (Firenze), 2000, estimated at $40000-50000, sold at $107950
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
