Auction Results: Fine Photographs, February 19, 2015 @Swann

Swann’s sale of Fine Photographs last week fit the bill as an early season warm up – in the throes of the recent cold here in New York, the wheels of this particular auction never entirely gained traction, but the motor got cranked up enough to generate the beginnings of momentum. With few positive surprises to backfill the passes, the Total Sale Proceeds were lackluster, falling beneath the pre-sale estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 173
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $1088500
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $1601900
Total Lots Sold 125
Total Lots Bought In 48
Buy In % 27.75%
Total Sale Proceeds $936732

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 131
Total Low Lots Sold 99
Total Low Lots Bought In 32
Low Buy In % 24.43%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $683900
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $457707
Mid Total Lots 40
Total Mid Lots Sold 25
Total Mid Lots Bought In 15
Mid Buy In % 37.50%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $753000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $404025
Total High Lots 2
Total High Lots Sold 1
Total High Lots Bought In 1
High Buy In % 50.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $165000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $75000

The top lot by High estimate was lot 146, Helmut Newton, Portrait of Karl Lagerfeld in Paris, 1976, estimated at $70000-100000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $75000 (image above, right, via Swann).

85.60% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 8, Eadweard Muybridge, Nude man swinging sledge hammer, 1887, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3750 (image above, middle, via Swann)

Lot 75, Arthur Siegel, Photogram, 1946, estimated at $1800-2200, sold at $5250 (image above, left, via Swann)

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: Arthur Siegel, Eadweard Muybridge, Helmut Newton, Swann Auction Galleries

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