Auction Results: First Open, September 15, 2017 @Christie’s London

The photography included in Christie’s recent First Open sale in London wasn’t particularly notable, but the few lots that were on offer fared quite well. The top lot Gilbert & George print found a buyer above its range and the overall Buy-In rate for photography was under 15%, helping the Total Sale Proceeds to come in just above the aggregate pre-sale high estimate.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 15
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate £149800
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate £215000
Total Lots Sold 13
Total Lots Bought In 2
Buy In % 13.33%
Total Sale Proceeds £247500

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 4
Total Low Lots Sold 4
Total Low Lots Bought In 0
Low Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots £14000
Total Proceeds from Low Lots £16250
Mid Total Lots 9
Total Mid Lots Sold 7
Total Mid Lots Bought In 2
Mid Buy In % 22.22%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots £121000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots £135000
Total High Lots 2
Total High Lots Sold 2
Total High Lots Bought In 0
High Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots £80000
Total Proceeds from High Lots £96250

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 76, Gilbert & George, Holy Piss, 1996, estimated at £35000-45000 (image in preview post). It was also the top photography outcome of the sale at £52500.

92.31% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was only 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Christie’s):

Lot 56, Marina Abramovic, Balkan Baroque I, 1997, estimated at £10000-15000, sold at £32500

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: Marina Abramović, Christie's

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