There wasn’t much notable photography included in Phillips’ recent New Now sale in London, and the results of the auction were generally uneventful. The overall Buy-In rate for photography was low (under 9%), but with only 1 positive surprise, the Total Sale Proceeds (of just £150K) were lackluster, coming in below the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 23 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £161000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £244000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 8.70% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £151250 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 11 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 9.09% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £39000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £36000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £125000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £94000 |
| 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 | £80000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £21250 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 25, Wolfgang Tillmans, Lighter 33, 2007, estimated at £30000-50000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 216, Cindy Sherman, Five works: i) Untitled #341; ii) Untitled #343’ iii) Untitled #345; vi) Untitled #334; v) Untitled #355, 1999, 2000, estimates at £20000-30000, sold at £21250 (image above, via Phillips).
80.95% 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 222, Andres Serrano, The Morgue (Broken Bottle Murder II), 1992, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £6875
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
