The results from the Photographs sale last week at Phillips in New York generally met expectations. The top lot Richard Avedon portrait of Francis Bacon found a buyer within its estimate range, and although the overall Buy-In rate creeped up over 25%, plenty of positive surprises helped to balance the numbers. When the dust settled, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $3.0M) came in 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 | 245 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2794100 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $4175300 |
| Total Lots Sold | 182 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 63 |
| Buy In % | 25.71% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $3014345 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 130 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 100 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 30 |
| Low Buy In % | 23.08% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $799300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $645795 |
| Mid Total Lots | 105 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 75 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 30 |
| Mid Buy In % | 28.75% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $2551000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $1847850 |
| Total High Lots | 10 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 30.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $825000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $520700 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 219, Richard Avedon, Francis Bacon, artist, Paris, 4-11-79, 1979, estimated at $100000-150000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $114300 (image above via Phillips).
93.41% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 15 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Phillips):
Lot 202, Cindy Sherman, Untitled (Lucille Ball), 1975/2001, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $25400
Lot 234, Martin Parr, Galway Races from Luxury, 1997, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6350
Lot 248, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Gorilla, 1994, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $25400
Lot 251, Chris McCaw, Sunburned GSP#255 (Santa Cruz Mountains/Fog), 2008, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10160
Lot 256, Michael Dweck, Dave and Pam in their Caddy, Trailer Park, Montauk, New York, 2002, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $25400
Lot 303, Robert Longo, Untitled Pl. 6 from Men in the Cities, 2005, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $27940
Lot 325, William Heick, Fillmore Street, San Francisco, 1948/later, estimated at $600-800, sold at $2286
Lot 333, Harry Callahan, Eleanor/Silhouette (Chicago), 1948, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $76200
Lot 343, Aaron Siskind, New York 78, 1976, estimated at $1000-2000, sold at $4064
Lot 349, Harry Callahan, Atlanta, 1984 estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $25400
Lot 351, Lisette Model, Newspaper Seller, 1937, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6096
Lot 374, Ansel Adams, Northern California Coast Redwoods, 1960/1963, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11430
Lot 383, Ansel Adams, A Young Lawyer and his Family at Manzanar, 1943/early, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $20320
Lot 432, Bert Stern, Brigitte Bardot, 1961/2009, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $17780
Lot 448, William Wegman, Ray Cat, 1979, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $8636
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
