Of the three houses this season, Phillips came the closest to meeting the pre-sale expectations in its recent Photographs sale. Like the others, it too was hit by the softening combination of a slightly too high Buy-In rate (nearly 32% in this case) and too few positive surprises, leading to Total Sale Proceeds that fell below the range. As consolation for Phillips, the numbers weren’t too far off in the end (led by the top lot Gilbert & George piece which did sell), and it once again bested the other two houses in the ultimate measure of aggregate sales.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 257 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $5161000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $7333500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 175 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 82 |
| Buy In % | 31.91% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $4922875 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 81 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 62 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 19 |
| Low Buy In % | 23.46% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $531500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $427250 |
| Mid Total Lots | 144 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 90 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 54 |
| Mid Buy In % | 37.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $3117000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $1794375 |
| Total High Lots | 32 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 23 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 9 |
| High Buy In % | 28.13% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $3685000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $2701250 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 16, Gilbert & George, Day, 1978, estimated at $600000-800000 (image in preview post). It was also the top outcome of the sale at $670000.
91.43% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 5 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Phillips):
Lot 112, Diane Arbus, Promotion Flyer for ‘A Box of Ten Photographs’, 1970-1971, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $35000
Lot 217, Nick Brandt, Giraffe Fan, Aberdares, 2000, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $13125
Lot 218, Nick Brandt, Two Rhinos, Lewa, 2003, estimated at $1500-2000, sold at $11250
Lot 219, Nick Brandt, Zebra in Doorway with Loom, Lewa Downs, 2002, estimated at $1500-2000, sold at $13750
Lot 234, Edward Burtynsky, AMARC #5, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tuscon Arizona, 2006, estimated at $15000-20000, sold at $40000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
