Sotheby’s continued its experimentation with a cross-medium approach to lower end offerings with its Contemporary Discoveries online sale earlier this week. With nearly 60 lots of photography included, there was a range of material on offer, some of it available with no reserve. An overall Buy-In rate for photography of over 37% dampened the results a bit, and with only one positive surprise to balance the softness, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $360K) fell well 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 | 59 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $512000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $761500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 37 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 22 |
| Buy In % | 37.29% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $367794 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 9 |
| Low Buy In % | 31.03% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $181500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $79884 |
| Mid Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Mid Buy In % | 41.38% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $520000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $287910 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 264, Jeff Wall, Young Man Wet With Rain, 2011, estimated at $40000-60000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome in the sale was lot 103, David Hockney, Canal and Road Kyoto, 1983, estimated at $18000-25000, sold at $44100 (image above, via Sotheby’s.)
64.86% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just one positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Sothebys):
Lot 341, Andro Wekua, Calling over 2, 2007, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6930
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
