Aside from a few later prints that jumped up higher than expected, the results from the Photographs sale at Christie’s last week were largely uneventful. The top lot Alexander Rodchenko print sold in its range, and was bested by higher outcomes from works by Alfred Stieglitz and Ansel Adams. The overall Buy-In rate came in under 24% and a number of positive surprises helped the tally a bit, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $3.75M) that came in just 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 | 222 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3531500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $5145200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 169 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 534 |
| Buy In % | 23.87% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $3748176 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 79 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 67 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Low Buy In % | 15.19% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $544200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $559818 |
| Mid Total Lots | 120 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 86 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 34 |
| Mid Buy In % | 28.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $2646000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $1803618 |
| Total High Lots | 23 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 7 |
| High Buy In % | 30.43% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1955000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1384740 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 51, Alexander Rodchenko, Vladimir Mayakovsky, 1924, estimated at $120000-180000; it sold at $126000, but it was not the top outcome of the sale. That honor was tied between two lots, each sold at $176400 – lot 16, Alfred Stieglitz, The Hand of Man, 1902/c1910, estimated at $70000-90000, and lot 30, Ansel Adams, Portfolio Two: The National Parks and Monuments; 15 Photographs, 1950, estimated at $40000-60000 (images above, via Christie’s.)
78.11% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 14 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 1, Edward Steichen, Untitled (Design for a Cover), 1906, estimated at $500-700, sold at $1890
Lot 4, George Seeley, Nude, the Pool, c1907, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $50400
Lot 25, Ansel Adams, Near Mount Carmel, Utah, c1940s, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $17640
Lot 30, Ansel Adams, Portfolio Two: The National Parks and Monuments; 15 Photographs, 1950, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $176400
Lot 44, André Kertész, Mondrian’s Studio, 1926/later, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $21420
Lot 61, Yousuf Karsh, The Marx Brothers, 1948/later, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $12600
Lot 63, Robert Capa, Pablo Picasso & Francoise Gilot, Golfe-Juan, France, August 1948, 1948/later, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $32760
Lot 99, Stephen Shore, Trail’s End Restaurant, Kanab, Utah, August 10, 1973, 1973 estimated at $12000-15000, sold at $50400
Lot 107, Nan Goldin, Greer and Robert on the bed, New York City, 1982, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $44100
Lot 108, Nan Goldin, French Chris on convertible, NYC, 1979, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $25200
Lot 138, George Hoyningen-Huene, Divers, swimwear by A.J. Izod, 1930/later, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $18900
Lot 146, Bert Stern, Marilyn Monroe ‘Head Shot’, from ‘The Last Sitting’, 1962/2006, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $16380
Lot 152, Albert Watson, Kate Moss, Marrakech, January 1993, 1993, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $69300
Lot 184, Alec Soth, Cemetery, Fountain City, Wisconsin, 2002, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $20160
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
