The solid performance of the higher priced photography lots in the Modern & Contemporary Art sales at Phillips last week in London proved to be enough to carry the sales to a respectable midpoint. The top lot Andreas Gursky print of Los Angeles found a buyer within its estimate range, as did a pair of prints by Cindy Sherman, with a Bernd & Hilla Becher typology selling above its range. While there was only one positive surprise in the sales (a Wolfgang Tillmans paper drop), a workmanlike overall Buy-In rate for photography of 20% led to Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £1.6M) that fell squarely in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 25 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1215800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1836200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1602232 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 12 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 8.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £54200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £54102 |
| Mid Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £112000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £55880 |
| 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 | £1670000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £1492250 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 13, Andreas Gursky, Los Angeles, 1998, estimated at £400000-600000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at £546100 (image above, via Phillips).
85.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(image above, via Phillips):
Lot 122, Wolfgang Tillmans, Paper Drop (light), 2006, estimated at £40000-60000, sold at £120650
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening and Day) and here (Modern & Contemporary Art: Online).
