The photography included in Sotheby’s recent Eclectic sale in London (online) largely met expectations. High priced lots have performed relatively weakly in this new online auction reality, and this sale was no different, with the top lot Rauschenberg print failing to sell and heavier Buy-Ins overall within the top tier. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly £375K) missed the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range by a decent margin.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 52 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £485000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £675000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 41 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Buy In % | 21.15% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £373875 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 21 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Low Buy In % | 9.52% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £53000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £43000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 24 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Mid Buy In % | 20.83% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £284000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £219625 |
| Total High Lots | 7 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 57.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £338000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £111250 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 20, Robert Rauschenberg, Photem Series 1, #29, 1981, estimated at £70000-90000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 102, Peter Beard, Giraffes in Mirage on the Taru Desert, Kenya, 1960/later, estimated at £30000-40000, sold at £68750 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
87.80% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 146, Don McCullin, Wounded Marine, Vietnam, 1968/1990, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £7500
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
