The photography included in the Modern & Contemporary Art sale at Phillips in London last week performed admirably. Two Robert Mapplethorpe self-portraits tied for the top lot honors, and with an overall Buy-In rate for photography under 15%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £608K) came in near the top of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 27 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £447000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £661000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 23 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 14.81% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £608235 |
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 | 23 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 17.39% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £401000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £355395 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £260000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £252840 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at £60000-80000: lot 31, Robert Mapplethorpe, Self Portrait, 1980, and lot 32, Robert Mapplethorpe, Self Portrait, 1980; both lots sold at £70950, tying for the top photography outcome of the sale (image above, via Phillips).
95.65% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(images above, via Phillips):
Lot 121, Terry O’Neill, Brigitte Bardot, Spain, 1971/later, estimated at £12000-18000, sold at £36120
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
