It was a pretty rough outing for the photography offered in the recent Pictorialism into Modernism online sale at Christie’s. While the lots all came with a MoMA permanent collection provenance, the buyer interest was tepid at best. The overall Buy-In Rate came in over 48% and 50% of the lots that sold did so at prices underneath their low estimates. Not surprisingly, the Total Sale Proceeds slid in with a thud, at just more than half the aggregate pre-sale low estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 58 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $816000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1222000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 30 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 28 |
| Buy In % | 48.28% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $436500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Low Buy In % | 41.38% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $170000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $89625 |
| Mid Total Lots | 23 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Mid Buy In % | 47.83% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $582000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $246875 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 83.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $470000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $100000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 123, Clarence White, Untitled, 1921, estimated at $80000-120000 (image in preview post); it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 109, Constantin Brancusi, Princesse X, 1916, estimated at $60000-80000, sold at $100000 (image above, via Christie’s).
Only 50.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Christie’s):
Lot 128, Alfred Stieglitz, Three images from Picturesque Bits of New York And Other Studies, 1894-1897, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $5625
Lot 129, Alfred Stieglitz, Winter, Fifth Avenue, 1893/1897, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $22500
Lot 155, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Vortograph, c1917/1958, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $43750 (image in preview post)
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
