Given the breadth of material on offer at the recent Man Ray sale at Sotheby’s in Paris, it isn’t particularly surprising that there were both highs and lows. While images that captured Man Ray’s playfulness, his inventiveness, or his surreal eye did well, many of the lesser known portraits found few or no bidders. As a result, the overall Buy-In rate for photography came in above 43%, with those frequent passes dragging the Total Sale Proceeds below the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 194 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1472500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €2109500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 109 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 85 |
| Buy In % | 43.81% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €1314900 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 80 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 49 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 31 |
| Low Buy In % | 38.75% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €489500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €333375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 112 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 58 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 54 |
| Mid Buy In % | 48.21% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €1520000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €872025 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €100000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €109500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 29, Man Ray, Lee Miller au collier d’éponges, Juan-les-pins, Hiver, 1930-1931, estimated at €40000-60000; it was also the top photo outcome of the sale at €79500.
89.91% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 8 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 10, Man Ray, Auto portrait la femme angoissée dans une chambre la nuit d’Alberto Giacometti, 1932, estimated at €7000-10000, sold at €22500
Lot 101, Man Ray, Self Portrait, 1916/1970s, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €26250 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 103, Man Ray, Spider Woman, 1948/1960s, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €35000 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 132, Max Ernst/Man Ray, Photogramme pour le chateau etoile d’Andre Breton, 1936, estimated at €10000-15000, sold at €37500
Lot 169, Man Ray, Ava Gardner, 1950, estimated at €7000-10000, sold at €20000
Lot 184, Man Ray, Catherine Deneuve, 1968, estimated at €7000-10000, sold at €37500 (image above, middle, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 214, Man Ray, Portraits imaginaires du Marquis de Sade, 1936-1940, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €28750
Lot 224, Man Ray, A l’heure de l’observatoire – les amoureux, 1934, estimated at €15000-20000, sold at €51900
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
