There were no photographs available in the evening sale at the Modern & Contemporary Art sales at Phillips in New York last week, but the photo works on offer in the day sales performed well. The top lot Andreas Gursky print sold above its estimate range, and the addition of a low overall Buy-In rate (under 10%) and one positive surprise (a 20×24 Polaroid by Natalie White) helped to push the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $1.13M) just 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 | 11 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $763000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1125000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Buy In % | 9.09% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1132620 |
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 | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $145000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $203820 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $980000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $928800 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 326, Andreas Gursky, Untitled V, 1997, estimated at $200000-300000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $387000 (image above, via Phillips.)
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was 1 positive positive surprise in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(image below, via Phillips):
Lot 413, Natalie White, The Mask These Faces Wear, 2022, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $51600
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Morning) and here (Afternoon).
