A bit too much softness in the mid price tier muted the results of the Contemporary Photographs sale at Sotheby’s in New York last week. Rare vintage prints from Valie Export performed well, and the top lot Cindy Sherman film still found a buyer, but in the end, the Total Sale Proceeds (of just over $1.1M) fell at the low end of the aggregate pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 89 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1073000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1638000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 63 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 26 |
| Buy In % | 29.21% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1100106 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 39 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 30 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 9 |
| Low Buy In % | 23.08% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $286000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $211176 |
| Mid Total Lots | 48 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 31 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 17 |
| Mid Buy In % | 35.42% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1102000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $699930 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $250000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $189000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 13, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #84, 1978, estimated at $120000-180000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $119700 (image above via Sotheby’s.)
74.60% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 5 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 8, Dinh Q. Lê, The Characters, 2002, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $30240
Lot 18, Valie Export, Einkreisung (Encirclement) from Körperkonfigurationen (Body Configurations), 1976, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $60480
Lot 19, Valie Export, Zuhockung II (Squat in II) from Körperkonfigurationen (Body Configurations), 1972, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $25200
Lot 54, Taryn Simon, Cryopreservation Unit, Cryonics Institute, Clinton Township, Michigan, 2004/2007, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $15120
Lot 68, Cindy Sherman, Untitled (for Chicago), 1986, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11970
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
