The photography included in last week’s series of contemporary art sales at Christie’s in New York was spread across three sales – Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works, 21st Century Evening, and Post-War & Contemporary Art Day. After one photo withdrawal, the top photo outcome across the sales was a Richard Prince cowboy print, which fetched just over $1.5M. Other works by Prince, Barbara Kruger, and Andreas Gursky also fared well, leading to Total Sale Proceeds for photography of just under $3.8M, topping the high end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 13 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2425000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $3510000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 15.38% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $3788900 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 2 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $50000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $75600 |
| Total High Lots | 11 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 18.18% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $3460000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $3713300 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 40B, Richard Prince, Untitled (cowboy), 2016, estimated at $700000-1000000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $1502000 (image above, via Christie’s).
90.91% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just one positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Christie’s):
Lot 748, John Baldessari, Study for Blasted Allegories: Return…, 1978, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $35280
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works), here (21st Century Evening), and here (Post-War & Contemporary Art Day).
