While the photography on offer at Phillips’ recent New Now sale in London was an eclectic bunch, it certainly performed satisfactorily. The top lot Wolfgang Tillmans print sold within its estimate range, and the photo lots in the middle and high price tiers sold through solidly. Overall, the Buy-In rate for photography was excellent (under 8%), leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of just over £350K) that came in just above the high end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 26 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £237000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £341000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 24 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 7.69% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £351851 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 6 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £28000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £17951 |
| Mid Total Lots | 18 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 5.56% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £208000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £231840 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £105000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £102060 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 106, Wolfgang Tillmans, Layers, 2018, estimated at £50000-70000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at £69300 (image above, via Phillips).
87.50% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above via Phillips):
Lot 126, Gerhard Richter, Cage 4 (P19-4), 2020, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £27720
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
