The results from the photography included in Christie’s First Open sale in London last week were generally uneventful. The top lot Vik Muniz image found a buyer, only to be topped by a selection of images by Martin Stranka. With a couple of other positive surprises and a reasonable Buy-In rate for photography (under 20%), the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £100K) came in 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 | 24 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £93000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £140500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £102816 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 20 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Low Buy In % | 10.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £83500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £70056 |
| Mid Total Lots | 4 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £57000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £32760 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £0 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 67, Vik Muniz, White Rose (from the Monad Series), 2003, estimated at £12000-18000; it sold at £15120. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 91, Martin Stranka, Beautiful Accidents (i) My Secret Eden (ii) This Is My Church (iii) Walking on Water (iv) Life is a Game (v) There Is No Goodbye (vi) Never Been Happier (vii) Take Me Anywhere (viii) Don’t Ruin My Fantasy, 2022/2023, estimated at £10000-15000, sold at £17640 (image above, via Christie’s).
75.00% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 97, John Stezaker, She (Film Portrait Collage) III, 2008, estimated at £1000-2000, sold at £4032
Lot 134, Mat Collinshaw, Last Meal On Death Row ‘Johnny Frank Garret’, 2010, estimated at £1500-2500, sold at £6930
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
