The results from Bonhams’ various owner Photographs sale in New York earlier this week suffered from a poor over/under ratio – of the lots that did sell (and the overall Buy-In rate was a hefty 40+%), there were more lots that sold below the estimate range than lots that sold above it. With few positive surprises to make up for overall softness, the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the pre-sale estimate range by plenty.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 107 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $843500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1257500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 64 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 43 |
| Buy In % | 40.19% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $668750 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 88 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 55 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 33 |
| Low Buy In % | 37.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $502500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $281625 |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Mid Buy In % | 58.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $435000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $95625 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $320000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $291500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 6, Ansel Adams, Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California, 1944/1963-1973, estimated at $150000-250000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $179000 (image in preview post).
Only 68.75% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Bonhams):
Lot 33, Hiromu Kira, The Thinker, c1930, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $27500
Lot 105, David Hockney, The Steering Wheel, 1982, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $20000
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
