A rare vintage print of Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” headlined the recent Fine Photographs sale at Swann in New York, and delivered a frothy $300K outcome to buoy up the results of the sale. The rest of the action was quite a bit more predictable, with an overall Buy-In rate of roughly a third, a cluster of positive surprises, and a tally of the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $1.15M) that fell just above the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 314 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1124200 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1673250 |
| Total Lots Sold | 210 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 104 |
| Buy In % | 33.12% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1156559 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High price range definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 294 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 197 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 97 |
| Low Buy In % | 32.99% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $1153250 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $642609 |
| Mid Total Lots | 19 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Mid Buy In % | 36.84% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $370000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $208950 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $150000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $305000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 114, Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age 32), 1936, estimated at $100000-150000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $305000 (image above, via Swann).
72.38% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 11 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). Three of these lots were vernacular imagery (lot 3, New Zealand, lot 25, Impressionism, and lot 69, Femme Fatale & Queen of the Night). The 8 positive surprises in fine photographs were as follows (images above via Swann):
Lot 11, Timothy O’Sullivan, Group of 6 Geological Survey photographs, 1873-1874, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $17500
Lot 81, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Los Obstáculos, 1929/1970s, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6750
Lot 112, Andreas Feininger, 9th Avenue Elevated, 9th Ave between 14th Street and 19th St., 1940, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $7250
Lot 114, Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age 32), 1936, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $305000
Lot 153, Fan Ho, Different Directions, Hong Kong, 1958, estimated at $3000-4500, sold at $9375
Lot 175, Robert Frank, Backyard–Venice West, California., 1956/1970s, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $17500
Lot 191, John Vachon, A pair of portraits of Marilyn Monroe, 1953, 1956, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $5750
Lot 279, Bruce Davidson, Subway Platform, 1980/2003, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $6250
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
