The results from Phillips recent evening and day Photographs sales were consistently solid, easily bringing in the largest total proceeds (roughly $7 million) this season among the three major auction houses. The overall Buy-In rate across the two sales was a respectable 20% and there were enough positive surprises during the day to push the Total Sale Proceeds into the middle of the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 241 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $6307500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $8912500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 192 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 49 |
| Buy In % | 20.33% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $7083000 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 82 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 65 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 17 |
| Low Buy In % | 20.73% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $557500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $495375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 124 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 100 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 24 |
| Mid Buy In % | 19.35% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $2815000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $2510625 |
| Total High Lots | 35 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 27 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 8 |
| High Buy In % | 22.86% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $5540000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $4077000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 18, Helmut Newton, Walking Women, Paris, 1981, estimated at $700000-900000; it was also the top outcome of the two sales at $905000 (image in preview post).
90.63% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 12 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Phillips):
Lot 115, Annie Leibovitz, Lauren Hutton, Oxford, Mississippi, 1981, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $17500
Lot 149, Garry Winogrand, Salt Lake City Municipal Airport, 1964, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $37500
Lot 207, Daniele Tamagni, Willy Covary, 2008, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $7500
Lot 209, Peter Beard, Fayel Tall at Loingalani, Lake Rudolph, Kenya, 1987/1998, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $40000
Lot 214, Pieter Hugo, Adbullahi Mohammed with Mainasara, Ogere-Remo, Nigeria, 2007, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $40000
Lot 222, Sebastião Salgado, The Eastern Part of the Brooks Range, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA, 2009, estimated at $35000-45000, sold at $97500
Lot 236, Joel Meyerowitz, Dairyland, Provincetown, 1976, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at 16250
Lot 253, Mitch Epstein, Amos Coal Power Plant, West Virginia, 2004, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $62500
Lot 273, Alex Prager, Crowd #2 (Emma), 2012, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $75000
Lot 278, Andrew Moore, Model T Headquarters, Highland Park, Detroit, 2009, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $16250
Lot 281, Marco Breuer, Spin (C-827), 2008, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $15000
Lot 314, Catherine Opie, Untitled #8 from Freeway, 1994, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $11875
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
Next time you report that Prager being sold I reckon it will be ten times more expensive.