It was a largely uneventful run for the photography lots included in the Modern & Contemporary Art sale at Phillips in London last week. The top photo lot honors went to a Wolfgang Tillmans abstraction, but softness among the higher prices muted the overall tally. Even with a couple of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £202K) came in below 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 | £249000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £351000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 27.27% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £201930 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £16000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £36830 |
| Mid Total Lots | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £125000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £114300 |
| Total High Lots | 3 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 66.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £210000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £50800 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at £60000-80000: lot 18, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Lime Kilns, 1963-1997/2003, and lot 68, Anselm Kiefer, Untitled, 2014; the Becher typology sold at £50800 and the Kiefer work passed. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 69, Wolfgang Tillmans, Wesen, 2001, estimated at £20000-30000, sold at £63500 (image above, via Phillips).
75.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(images above, via Phillips):
Lot 69, Wolfgang Tillmans, Wesen, 2001, estimated at £20000-30000, sold at £63500
Lot 104, Robert Longo, Untitled (Eric) from Men in the Cities, 1981-1998, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £27940
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
