When the top lot fails to sell in an art auction, it’s often tough to make up the difference in the numbers with the rest of the available lots. This was the case for the photography lots on offer in Phillips’ Modern & Contemporary Art sales in New York last week. After the top lot Richard Prince cowboy print failed to find a buyer, a Hiroshi Sugimoto work rose to the challenge, but even with nearly all of the photo lots selling, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $1.3M) fell below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 10 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1650000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2370000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1290320 |
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 % | 0.00% |
| 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 | $100000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $64770 |
| Total High Lots | 8 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2270000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1225550 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 39, Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy), 1999, estimated at $500000-700000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome was lot 21, Hiroshi Sugimoto, The Last Supper, 1999, estimated at $400000-600000, sold at $533400 (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), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
