The recent single collector photography sale at Sotheby’s in Paris generally performed to expectations. With an overall Buy-In rate just above 30% and a handful of positive surprises to balance out the passes, the Total Sale Proceeds fell squarely 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 | 97 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1060000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €1517000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 66 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 31 |
| Buy In % | 31.96% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €1331750 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 41 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 27 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 14 |
| Low Buy In % | 34.15% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €199000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €158000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 46 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 30 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 16 |
| Mid Buy In % | 34.78% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €668000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €470000 |
| Total High Lots | 10 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 10.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €650000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €703750 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 50, Irving Penn, Frozen Foods, New York, 1977/1984, estimated at €70000-90000 (image in preview post); it sold at €87500. The top outcome of the sale was lot 46, Irving Penn, Still Life with Watermelon, New York, 1947/1985, estimated at €60000-80000, sold at €150000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
96.97% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 5 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 20, Edward Weston, Dunes, Oceano, 1936/later (CW), estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €10625
Lot 21, Edward Weston, Legs in Hammock, 1937/later (CW), estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €10625
Lot 25, Duane Michals, Le Cirque, c1970, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €6250
Lot 48, Horst P. Horst, Still Life with Pears, 1940s/c1980, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €25000
Lot 49, Irving Penn, Potatoes and Baltic Herring, Sweden, 1964/1986, estimated at €12000-18000, sold at €37500
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
