10 out of the 11 highest priced lots failed to sell at Sotheby’s pre-holiday online sale of photographs to celebrate AIPAD, and few auctions can recover from that kind of top price weakness. A later print from Malick Sidibé ultimately took the top honors, but with little other excitement, the Total Sale Proceeds (of $315K) came in well below 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 | 88 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $654500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1003700 |
| Total Lots Sold | 42 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 46 |
| Buy In % | 52.27% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $315378 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 62 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 30 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 32 |
| Low Buy In % | 51.61% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $360700 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $116298 |
| Mid Total Lots | 24 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $523000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $199080 |
| 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 | $120000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top plot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at $40000-60000: lot 33, Robert Frank, Covered Car, 1956/1950s, and lot 49, William Henry Fox Talbot, Elm Tree Lacock Abbey, c 1843. Neither print found a buyer. The top outcome of the sale was lot 1, Malick Sidibé, ‘Nuit de Noël’ (Happy Club), 1963/2013, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $47880 (image above via Sotheby’s.)
Only 59.52% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 1, Malick Sidibé, ‘Nuit de Noël’ (Happy Club), 1963/2013, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $47880
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
