The photography included in the recent First Open | Post-War & Contemporary Art sale at Christie’s generally met expectations. The top lot Cindy Sherman print found a buyer underneath its estimate range, only to be bested by a Richard Prince Instagram portrait. The overall Buy-In rate for photography came in under 15%, and with a couple of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just over $515K) that tallied up in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 27 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $399000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $608000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 23 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 14.81% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $517398 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 8 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $48000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $55753 |
| Mid Total Lots | 18 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 22.22% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $460000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $410845 |
| 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 | $100000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $50800 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 45, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #513, 2010-2011 estimated at $70000-100000; it found a buyer at $50800, but it was not the top photography outcome of the sale. That honor went to lot 44, Richard Prince, Untitled (Portrait), 2014, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $120650 (image above, via Christie’s).
73.91% 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 44, Richard Prince, Untitled (Portrait), 2014, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $120650
Lot 75, Gerhard Richter, Domecke, 1998, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $50800
Lot 197, Nan Goldin, Honda Brothers in Cherry Blossom Storm, Tokyo, 1994, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $15240
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
