The photographs included in the Contemporary Discoveries and Modern Discoveries sales at Sotheby’s in New York last week generally performed to expectations. Many of the photo lots were sold without reserve, leading to many completed sales below the pre-sale estimate ranges. The top photography lot was a Felix Gonzalez-Torres puzzle work, and it jumped to more than twice its high estimate, but the rest of the results were less notable. When the timers ended on the two sales, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $610K) came in at the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 61 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $490900 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $731500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 49 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Buy In % | 19.67% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $612360 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 40 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 36 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Low Buy In % | 10.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $243500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $134400 |
| Mid Total Lots | 20 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $388000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $213960 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $100000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $264000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 5, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (Key West), 1992, estimated at $70000-100000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $264000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
Just 38.78% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive photographic surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 5, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (Key West), 1992, estimated at $70000-100000, sold at $264000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Contemporary Discoveries) and here (Modern Discoveries).
