The auction of a portion of the collection of William T. Hillman last week at Christie’s had one of the softest outcomes for a single owner photography sale in recent memory. With an overall Buy-In rate over 50% (with particular weakness at the top end) and few positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the estimate range by more than a million dollars.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 117 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2335500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $3488000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 57 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 60 |
| Buy In % | 51.28% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1271000 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 40 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 21 |
| Low Buy In % | 52.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $254000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $141625 |
| Mid Total Lots | 59 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 33 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 26 |
| Mid Buy In % | 44.07% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1434000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $766875 |
| Total High Lots | 18 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 13 |
| High Buy In % | 72.22% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1800000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $362500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 11, Diane Arbus, Waitress in a Nudist Camp, N.J., 1963, estimated at $200000-300000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 117, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Blast Furnaces, Frontal Views, 1976-1986, estimated at $80000-120000, sold at $112500.
92.98% 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 1, Mona Kuhn, Merle, 2003, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $16250 (image above, right, via Christie’s)
Lot 43, William Klein, Model and Graffiti, Paris (Vogue), 1961, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $25000 (image above, left, via Christie’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
