Auction Results: Photographs, April 1, 2014 @Phillips

Phillips kicked off the spring season of photography auctions with a solid outing earlier this week. The overall Buy-In rate came in under 22% (particularly noteworthy given the large number of lots on offer) and there were plenty of positive surprises (19 in all) to buoy the results. Prints from Sugimoto, Eggleston, Weems, Cunningham, Esser, and Sherman all came in far over their high estimates. Overall, the Total Sale Proceeds fell near the high end of the pre sale range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 271
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $4920700
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $7079300
Total Lots Sold 213
Total Lots Bought In 58
Buy In % 21.40%
Total Sale Proceeds $6389375

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 96
Total Low Lots Sold 80
Total Low Lots Bought In 16
Low Buy In % 16.67%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $595300
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $623375
Mid Total Lots 138
Total Mid Lots Sold 107
Total Mid Lots Bought In 31
Mid Buy In % 22.46%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $3049000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $2805000
Total High Lots 37
Total High Lots Sold 26
Total High Lots Bought In 11
High Buy In % 29.73%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $3435000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $2961000

The top lot by High estimate was lot 132, William Eggleston, Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973/late 1970s, estimated at $220000-280000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 63, Hiroshi Sugimoto, The Music Lesson, 1999, estimated at $200000-250000, sold at $629000.

95.77% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were 19 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 6, Philippe Halsman, Dali’s Mustache, 1953, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6875

Lot 29, Imogen Cunningham, Side, 1930s, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $43750 (image above, left, via Phillips)

Lot 63, Hiroshi Sugimoto, The Music Lesson, 1999, estimated at $200000-250000, sold at $629000

Lot 119, Nick Brandt, Portrait of Lioness Against Rock, Serengeti, 2007, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $27500

Lot 153, Garry Winogrand, World’s Fair, New York City, 1964/1974, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $22500

Lot 184, Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, Head #03, 2000, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $30000

Lot 186, Alex Prager, Crowd #1 from Week-End, 2010, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $43750

Lot 188, William Eggleston, Untitled, 2000, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $42500

Lot 198, Lewis Baltz, Selected images from Park City, 1980, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $56250

Lot 204, Cindy Sherman, Untitled (Artist in her Studio), 1983, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $27500

Lot 206, Cindy Sherman, Untitled (Bathing Suit), 1983/2000, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $47500 (image above, right, via Phillips)

Lot 221, Richard Misrach, Untitled #69-527, 2008, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $100000

Lot 225, Ahmet Ertug, The Library of Trinity College, ‘The Long Room’, Dublin, 2008, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $137000

Lot 230, Elger Esser, Cap d’Antifer, Frankreich, 2000, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $118750 (image above, middle, via Phillips)

Lot 253, Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled (woman and daughter with children), 1990, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $32500

Lot 254, Annie Leibovittz, Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, London, 2007, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $40000

Lot 260, Helmut Newton, Winnie off the Coast of Cannes, 1975/later, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $25000

Lot 269, Elliott Erwitt, New York City, 1974/later, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $8000

Lot 271, William Wegman, For Ray, 1988, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $8125

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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