The results from the recent Photographies sale at Paris (online) solidly met expectations. The top lot Helmut Newton print (from the cover of his photobook White Women) found a buyer above its estimate range, and there were more than a handful of positive surprises to counteract the roughly 30% overall Buy-In rate, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €1.69M) that fell squarely in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 108 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1445400 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €2080100 |
| Total Lots Sold | 74 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 34 |
| Buy In % | 31.48% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €1690164 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions). Given recent currency fluctuations, we have once again re-adapted our local currency thresholds to match roughly $10000 and $50000 break points between categories.
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 57 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 38 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 19 |
| Low Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €337100 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €339444 |
| Mid Total Lots | 42 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 13 |
| Mid Buy In % | 30.95% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €973000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €676620 |
| Total High Lots | 9 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 22.22% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €770000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €674100 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 64, Helmut Newton, Untitled (legs), Villa d’Este, Lake Como, 1975, estimated at €120000-180000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at €214200 (image above, via Christie’s).
94.59% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 8 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 25, Shomei Tomatsu, Untitled (series ‘Chewing Gum and Chocolate, Yokosuka’), 1958/2003, estimated at €10000-15000, sold at €37800
Lot 38, George Seeley, Autumn, No. 29, 1910, estimated at €1000-2000, sold at €4410
Lot 41, Max Pinckers, The Only Way to Predict the Future is to Create it (series ‘Margins of Excess’), 2018, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €15120
Lot 54, Prince Gyasi, The Power of Choice / The Choice of Power, 2021, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €20160
Lot 67, William Klein, Simone + Nina, Piazza di Spagna Rome, 1960/2010, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €16380
Lot 89, František Drtikol, Nude study, 1928, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €16380
Lot 91, Man Ray, Les mains d’Antonin Artaud, c1925, estimated at €7000-9000, sold at €47880
Lot 92, Man Ray, Lee Miller au canon, 1929-1930, estimated at €7000-9000, sold at €23940
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
