The results for the photography included in the last First Open | Post-War & Contemporary Art sale of 2025 at Christie’s were uneventful. The top lot Doug Aitken lightbox failed to sell, and while the overall Buy-In rate for photography came in under 13%, the weakness in the top lots couldn’t be offset by just a few positive surprises. When the dust settled, Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just over $405K) tallied up just under 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 | 33 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $421200 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $631300 |
| Total Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 12.12% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $406400 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 14 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $70300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $84074 |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 11.76% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $431000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $322326 |
| 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 | $130000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 163, Doug Aitken, Last Blast, 2008, estimated at $50000-70000; it did not sell. The the top photography outcome of the sale was lot 113, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #360, 2000, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $48260 (image above, via Christie’s).
Just 65.52% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 142, Steven Shearer, Kaleidoscope II, 2006-2007, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $40640
Lot 144, Nan Goldin, Blue Hills, Italy, c1998, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $13970
Lot 299, Liliana Porter, Minnie, 1995, estimated at $200-300, sold at $2794
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
