It was a generally uneventful run for the Armory Week photography offerings at Christie’s last week. The overall Buy-In rate for photography hovered near 25% and there were few positive surprises, leading to Total Sale Proceeds that cleared the $1 million mark but missed the low end of the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 50 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1042000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1494500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 37 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 13 |
| Buy In % | 26.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1006500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 16 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Low Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $104500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $84750 |
| Mid Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Mid Buy In % | 27.59% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $540000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $370000 |
| Total High Lots | 5 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $850000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $551750 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 33, Gerhard Richter, Mustangs, 2005, estimated at $250000-350000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 244, Thomas Struth, Musée d’Orsay II, Paris, 1990, estimated at $120000-180000, sold at $197000.
78.38% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 147, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (B), 1986, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $32500 (image above, left, via Christie’s)
Lot 218, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Two Girls With Shadows, 2004, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $25000 (image in preview post)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
