There was softness in the sales of the higher priced photography lots included in Christie’s First Open sale in London last week, but there were enough positive surprises to help pull the numbers up. With a Buy-In rate for photography just under 30% and the top lot Andres Gursky print failing to sell, the sale struggled to find its photographic footing. A print by Candida Höfer help equalize the situation, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly £320K) 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 | 56 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £312200 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £472700 |
| Total Lots Sold | 40 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 16 |
| Buy In % | 28.57% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £320796 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 27 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 24 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Low Buy In % | 11.11% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £85700 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £81018 |
| Mid Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Mid Buy In % | 44.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £247000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £151578 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £140000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £88200 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 30, Andreas Gursky, Düsseldorf Flughafen I, 1985, estimated at £30000-50000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 29, Candida Höfer, Narodni Knihovna Praha II, 2004, estimated at £20000-30000, sold at £60480 (image above, via Christie’s).
90.00% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 7 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Christie’s):
Lot 28, Cindy Sherman, Untitled (From Merce Cunningham Dance Company: 50th Anniversary), 2003, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £13860
Lot 29, Candida Höfer, Narodni Knihovna Praha II, 2004, estimated at £20000-30000, sold at £60480
Lot 31, Thomas Ruff, Anderes Portrat Nr. 50/29, 1994-1995, estimated at £800-1200, sold at £3276
Lot 50, Matthew Pillsbury, Diplodocus #2, Natural History Museum, London, 2007, estimated at £600-800, sold at £1638
Lot 53, Elad Lassry, Pillow 2, 2011, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £6300
Lot 64, Zhang Dali, Demolition, 1999, estimated at £1000-2000, sold at £4788
Lot 94, Wolfgang Tillmans, Suzanne & Lutz, White Dress, Army Skirt, 1993, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £23940
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
