Auction Results: Photographs, April 7, 2022 @Bonhams

It was a generally forgettable outing at the Photographs sale at Bonhams in New York last week. Softness is the upper price ranges and an overall Buy-In rate over 40% reduced the overall tally, and with just one positive surprise to balance the passes, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $690K) fell well below 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 158
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $937700
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $1379800
Total Lots Sold 92
Total Lots Bought In 66
Buy In % 41.77%
Total Sale Proceeds $689468

Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 125
Total Low Lots Sold 77
Total Low Lots Bought In 48
Low Buy In % 38.40%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $594800
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $297585
Mid Total Lots 30
Total Mid Lots Sold 13
Total Mid Lots Bought In 17
Mid Buy In % 56.67%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $585000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $275213
Total High Lots 3
Total High Lots Sold 2
Total High Lots Bought In 1
High Buy In % 33.33%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $200000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $116670

The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, each estimated at $50000-70000: lot 30, Irving Penn, Lorry Washers, London, 1950/1967, and lot 154, Robert Frank, Shirts, for Aspesi, Milan, 1988. The Penn print sold at $63375, while the Frank work did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 102, Ansel Adams, Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California, 1941/late 1950s, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $75975 (image above, via Bonhams.)

82.61% 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 Bonhams):

Lot 103, Ansel Adams, Golden Gate Before the Bridge, 1932/1932-1940, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $28050

The complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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