The photography included in Christie’s recent First Open sale in London didn’t generate much in the way of energy. Both top lots failed to sell, and while the low and mid priced lots fared just fine, the Total Sale Proceeds of just over £150K (under the aggregate pre-sale low estimate) felt underwhelming.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 24 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £173000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £247500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £157000 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £8500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £13250 |
| Mid Total Lots | 19 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 21.05% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £169000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £143750 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £70000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £0 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 60, Thomas Struth, Dallas Parking Lot, Dallas, 2001, and lot 105, Shirin Neshat, Whispers, 1997, both estimated at £25000-35000 (images in preview post). Neither work sold. The top outcome of the sale was lot 59, Thomas Demand, Detail XIV, 2007, estimated at £10000-15000, sold at £21250 (image in preview post).
94.44% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (mages above, via Christie’s):
Lot 39, Shirin Neshat, Stripped, 1996, estimated at £5000-7000, sold at £15000
Lot 220, Walter Beckers, 11.22.63, 2007, estimated at £1000-1500, sold at £3250
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
