A nearly 40% Buy-In rate might normally have dampened the results of the Contemporary Photographs sale at Sotheby’s in New York last week, but a few solid sales in the top price tier and a handful of positive surprises helped bring the sale home. When the dust settled, the Total Sale Proceeds fell at the lower end of the aggregate pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 91 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1723000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2678000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 55 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 36 |
| Buy In % | 39.56% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1885375 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 30 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 15 |
| Low Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $221000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $90375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 52 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 33 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 19 |
| Mid Buy In % | 36.54% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1447000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $932500 |
| Total High Lots | 9 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 22.22% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1010000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $862500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 89, Peter Beard, Giraffes in Mirage on the Taru Desert, Kenya, 1960/later, estimated at $100000-200000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 71, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #10, 1978, estimated at $120000-180000, sold at $300000 (image above via Sotheby’s.)
83.64% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 4 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 35, Thomas Ruff, W.H.S. 10, 2001, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $56250
Lot 43, Catherine Opie, Selected images from Freeways, 1993, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $18750
Lot 51, Sean Scully, Towers, 2003, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $30000
Lot 82, Hendrik Kerstens, Bag, 2007, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $32500
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
