The photographs on offer in the single owner private collection sale on offer at Rago last week generally performed to expectations. The top lot William Eggleston tricycle found a buyer within its estimate range, and a few positive surprises added to the momentum; on the down side, more than 40% of the lots that sold did so below their estimate ranges, so there was some weakness lurking underneath the low Buy-In rate (under 5%). In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $940K) tallied up 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 | 46 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $862700 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1204300 |
| Total Lots Sold | 44 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 4.35% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $940595 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High price range definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 24 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 4.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $135300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $169690 |
| Mid Total Lots | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 13.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $369000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $250205 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $700000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $520700 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 114, William Eggleston, Memphis (Tricycle), c1970/1980, estimated at $150000-200000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $152400 (image above, via Rago).
Just 59.09% 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 Rago):
Lot 100, Madame Yevonde, Metis, c1935, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $29210 (world record price fora print by the artist)
Lot 119, Robert Mapplethorpe, Blue Rose, 1987/1988, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $20320
Lot 125, Candida Höfer, Bibliothek Madrid I, 2000, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11430
Lot 141, Julius Shulman, Case Study House #8 (Eames House), Pacific Palisades, CA, 1950/later, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3556
Lot 145, Julius Shulman, Mobil Gas Station, Anaheim, 1956/later, estimated at $1200-1800, sold at $6096
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
