There were very few photographs on offer in the run of Modern & Contemporary Art sales at Phillips in New York last week, but the photo works available did perform well. The top lot Barbara Kruger work sold above its estimate range (at more than $1M), and while there was one prominent photo withdrawal (a Cindy Sherman print), with that lot removed from the statistics, the overall Buy-In rate for photography came in at a tidy 0.00%. Even with no positive surprises, the Kruger sale buoyed the numbers up, leading to Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $1.16M) above the top end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 4 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $680000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $915000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1158420 |
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 | $55000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $42570 |
| 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 | $860000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1115850 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 19, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (My face is your fortune), 1982, estimated at $600000-800000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $1032000 (image above, via Phillips.)
75.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Afternoon).
