Led by an early 1980s work by Barbara Kruger that found a buyer above $1.5M, the photography included in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sales in New York sale last week delivered admirably. The overall Buy-In rate for photography was a respectable 27%, and buoyed by a couple of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $3.8M) came in above the high end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 22 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2190000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $3070000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Buy In % | 27.27% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $3815380 |
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 | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 14.29% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $270000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $337680 |
| Total High Lots | 15 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2800000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $3477700 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 1, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (My face is your fortune), 1982, estimated at $600000-800000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $1562500 (image above, via Sotheby’s.)
93.75% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 869, Wolfgang Tillmans, Anemone, 2003, estimated at $30000-40000, sold at $157500
Lot 933, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #577, estimated at $60000-80000, sold at $214200
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
Martin Parr recently discussed the first photography auction with the last man standing from that era, Philippe Garner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_GoN8x9YA8