The single artist David Bowie-centric sale of works by Brian Duffy at Bonhams in London (online) earlier this week hit a high note but then tapered off pretty quickly. The top lot iconic album cover image sold above its estimate range, but a similarly valuable related print failed to sell, in essence splitting the difference. The rest of the photographs in the sale performed uneventfully, leading to an overall Buy-In rate just over 30% and a couple of positive surprises. Tallied up, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly £450K) came in just 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 | 16 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £455300 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £574900 |
| Total Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Buy In % | 31.25% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £448088 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 11 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Low Buy In % | 36.36% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £44900 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £37888 |
| Mid Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £30000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £28800 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £500000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £381400 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 6, Brian Duffy, original print for Aladdin Sane album cover, 1973, estimated at £250000-300000; it was the top photography outcome of the sale at £381400 (image above, via Bonhams.)
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Bonhams):
Lot 5, Brian Duffy, Two original contact sheets of David Bowie for his album Aladdin Sane, 1973, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £19200
Lot 27, Brian Duffy, Autographed Polaroid of David Bowie with Marlboro Packet, 1979, estimated at £500-700, sold at £3584
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
