Phillips’ second tranche of deaccessioned photographs from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago was sold in London the week after Paris Photo, and while some buyer fatigue was to be expected given the scheduling, the sale performed decently well. The overall Buy-In rate was higher than generally desired (at just over 36%) and there were few positive surprises, but the Total Sale Proceeds still covered the low end of the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 86 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £332800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £457000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 55 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 31 |
| Buy In % | 36.05% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £346938 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| 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 | £204000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £169438 |
| Mid Total Lots | 22 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Mid Buy In % | 36.36% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £253000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £177500 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | NA |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 65, Ansel Adams, Aspens, Northern New Mexico, 1958/1978, estimated at £15000-20000; it sold for £18750. The top outcome of the sale was lot 62, Edward Weston, Dunes, Oceano, 1936/1953, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £23750 (image above, left, via Phillips).
92.73% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 4 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 20, Edward Weston, Oceano, 1936/1953, estimated at £4000-5000, sold at £10000
Lot 36, Brassaï, Soirée de gala, Chez Maxim’s, Paris, 1949/later, estimated at £3000-4000, sold at £10000 (image above, middle, via Phillips)
Lot 62, Edward Weston, Dunes, Oceano, 1936/1953, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £23750
Lot 66, Eliot Porter, Intimate Landscapes, 1979, estimated at £3000-4000, sold at £20000 (image above, right, via Phillips)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
