With just 17% of the lots that sold selling at or above their estimate ranges at the Spring Photo Auction at OstLicht in Vienna last week, even with an overall Buy-In rate under 29%, there were just too many passed lots and low priced purchases to keep the numbers up. The top lot Rudolf Koppitz image did sell, only to be bested by an overpainted work by Peter Beard. When the tally was complete, the Total Sale Proceeds came in at roughly €730K, well below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the 20% non-EU buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 247 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1051500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €1250600 |
| Total Lots Sold | 177 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 70 |
| Buy In % | 28.34% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €734160 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 216 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 152 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 64 |
| Low Buy In % | 29.63% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €734600 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €390960 |
| Mid Total Lots | 30 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 24 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €466000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €300000 |
| 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 | €50000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €43200 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 155, Rudolf Koppitz, Movement Study, Vienna, c1925, estimated at €40000-50000; it found a buyer at €43200, but it was not the top outcome of the same. That honor went to lot 219, Peter Beard, ‘I’ll write whenever I can’, 1965/later, estimated at €28000-36000, sold at €54000 (image above, via OstLicht).
Just 16.95% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 5 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via OstLicht):
Lot 111, August Sander, Young farmers, Westerwald, 1914/1990, estimated at €6000-7000, sold at €14400
Lot 159, Albert Steiner, Child on a hill with crocuses, 1928, estimated at €1200-1600, sold at €4080
Lot 166, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gandhi just before breaking his fast, Delhi, January 1948/1970s, estimated at €2400-2800, sold at €7200
Lot 167, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Cri Jawaharlal Nehru the morning after Gandhi died, Delhi, January 31, 1948, estimated at €3200-3600, sold at €7200
Lot 217, Will McBride, Uli Hager in the ‘Leonardo da Vinci Circle’, Casoli, Italy, 1978, estimated at €1600-1800, sold at €4080
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
