The fall auction season for contemporary art got going last week with a New Now sale at Phillips in New York, and the results for the photography included were altogether unremarkable. The top photo lot Louise Lawler triptych sold under its estimate range, and there were no positive surprises to energize the numbers. With an overall Buy-In rate for photography under 18%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $405K) came in just above 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 | 17 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $389000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $555000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 17.65% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $403860 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $18000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $15240 |
| Mid Total Lots | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 21.43% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $437000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $325120 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $100000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $63500 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 45, Louise Lawler, Untitled, 1950-51, 1987, estimated at $70000-100000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at $63500 (image above, via Phillips.)
78.57% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive photographic surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
