The results from the recent Photographs sale at Christie’s generally met expectations. The top lot Man Ray print sold (at $475K) above its high estimate, and a Lewis Hine print followed that up (at $275K) with another solid sale. Overall, the Buy-In rate came in near 37%, and with just one positive surprise, those data points might have predicted less robust results. But the broad strength in the top price tier carried the day, bringing the Total Sale Proceeds in at just under $2.2M, 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 | 139 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1967500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2909500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 88 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 51 |
| Buy In % | 36.69% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2193625 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 64 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 41 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 23 |
| Low Buy In % | 35.94% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $404500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $242375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 64 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 39 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 25 |
| Mid Buy In % | 39.06% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1425000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $807500 |
| Total High Lots | 11 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 27.27% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1080000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1143750 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 7, Man Ray, Le Violon d’Ingres, 1924/1950s, estimated at $200000-300000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $475000 (image above, via Christie’s.)
81.82% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Christie’s):
Lot 48, Danny Lyon, Ben Alton, Housewrecker, 1967, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $9375
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
