The results from the photography included in the contemporary art auctions at Sotheby’s in London last week were largely uneventful. The top photo lots (from Andreas Gursky and Gerhard Richter) found buyers within their pre-sale estimate ranges, but beyond those outcomes, there were no positive surprises. The overall Buy-In rate for photography came in above 27% (with 1 additional withdrawal), leading to Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £1.35M) that settled comfortably into 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 | 11 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1059000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1616500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 27.27% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1351040 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £6500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £9600 |
| Mid Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £110000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £138240 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1500000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £1203200 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at £400000-600000: lot 50, Andreas Gursky, Kuwait Stock Exchange, 2007, and lot 207, Gerhard Richter, Cage Grid (16 parts), 2011; the Gursky print was the top photography outcome of the sales at £537600 (image above, via Sotheby’s), while the Richter work found a buyer at £512000.
87.50% 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 (Modern & Contemporary Evening) and here (Contemporary Day).
