It was a workmanlike outcome for the photography lots included in the New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art sale at Phillips in London last week. The top lot Gerhard Richter overpainted print found a buyer just above its estimate range, and with an overall Buy-In rate for photography under 20%, even with only a few positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £738K) came in at 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 | 42 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £599000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £871000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 35 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £737870 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical 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 | £76000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £102235 |
| Mid Total Lots | 27 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 23 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 14.81% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £495000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £446405 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £300000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £189230 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 12, Gerhard Richter, Park, 1990, estimated at £70000-100000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at £107950 (image above, via Phillips).
88.57% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(images above, via Phillips):
Lot 34, Paul Pfeiffer, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, No. 18, 2004, estimated at £5000-7000, sold at £17780
Lot 144, Steven Klein, L-Star, Bridgehampton NY, 1999, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £12700
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
