Auction Results: Photographies, November 8, 2019 @Sotheby’s Paris

The results at Sotheby’s various owner Photographies sale in Paris last week were largely underwhelming. The top lot Cindy Sherman film still failed to find a buyer, the overall Buy-In rate came in at roughly a third, and there were only a handful of positive surprises, so the Total Sale Proceeds fell 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 106
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate €1875000
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate €2776000
Total Lots Sold 71
Total Lots Bought In 35
Buy In % 33.02%
Total Sale Proceeds €1512125

Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 30
Total Low Lots Sold 23
Total Low Lots Bought In 7
Low Buy In % 23.33%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots €182000
Total Proceeds from Low Lots €170250
Mid Total Lots 60
Total Mid Lots Sold 37
Total Mid Lots Bought In 23
Mid Buy In % 38.33%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots €959000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots €569375
Total High Lots 16
Total High Lots Sold 11
Total High Lots Bought In 5
High Buy In % 31.25%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots €1635000
Total Proceeds from High Lots €772500

The top lot by High estimate was lot 57, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #16, 1978, estimated at €300000-500000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 65, Thomas Struth, 23 Works from Unbewusste Orte (Unconscious Places), 1989, estimated at €100000-150000, sold at €125000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).

100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Sotheby’s):

Lot 1, Francesco Adriano De Bonis, Rome (19 Works), 1850-1870, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €23750

Lot 3, Johan Wilhelm Bergström, Portrait of the Photographer’s Wife at the Spinning Wheel, 1844-1852, estimated at €8000-12000, sold at €32500

Lot 31, Martin Schoeller, Angelina Jolie with Bod, 2000, estimated at €10000-15000, sold at €31250

Lot 32, Martin Schoeller, Cindy Sherman, 2000, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €13125

Lot 45, Liu Bolin, Construct Harmonious Society Together (Hiding in the City No. 50), 2008, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €15625

Lot 85, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jack Walls, 1982, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €14375

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: Francesco Adriano De Bonis, Johan Wilhelm Bergström, Liu Bolin, Martin Schoeller, Robert Mapplethorpe, Thomas Struth, Sotheby's

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