It was a quietly discouraging outing at the Perspectives photography auction at Leitz Gallery in Vienna last week. By almost any measure, the results were weak: the overall Buy-In rate topped 60%, the top lots failed to sell, and more than 80% of the lots that did sell came in below their estimate ranges. Not surprisingly, these kinds of data points led to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €140K) that fell well 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 | 122 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €366700 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €471200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 48 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 74 |
| Buy In % | 60.66% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €139260 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 116 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 47 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 69 |
| Low Buy In % | 59.48% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €387200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €108060 |
| Mid Total Lots | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Mid Buy In % | 83.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €84000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €31200 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at $15000-20000: lot 59, Robert Frank, Paris and the chairs, 1949/1952, and lot 109, David Armstrong, “Arbor” portfolio (6 prints), 1999; neither lot found a buyer. The top outcome of the sale was lot 17, Horst P. Horst, Elsa Schiaparelli, Paris, 1936, estimated at €8000-12000, sold at €31200 (image above, via Leitz).
Just 18.75% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate), which was the Horst print above.
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
