Phillips’ single owner sale of prints from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago earlier this week in New York was a resounding success. Led by strength in the mid and high priced lots (the more rare vintage material by and large) and punctuated by plenty of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds exceeded the highpoint of the pre-sale estimate. While good material can of course stand on its own, there’s nothing like a quality museum provenance to open up collectors’ wallets.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 117 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1482000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1659800 |
| Total Lots Sold | 86 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 31 |
| Buy In % | 26.50% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1713625 |
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 | 55 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 27 |
| Low Buy In % | 32.93% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $483800 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $401750 |
| Mid Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 13.79% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $616000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $734625 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $560000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $577250 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 36, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Cordoba, Spain, 1933, and lot 79, Irving Penn, Mermaid Dress (Rochas), Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, 1950/1979, both estimated at $80000-120000; the Cartier-Bresson was the top outcome of the sale at $161000, while the Penn sold for $93750.
An impressive 97.67% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 10 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 3, Arnold Newman, Marc Chagall, 1942/1956, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6875
Lot 21, James Van Der Zee, Portrait of a Harlem Preacher, “Daddy Grace” and Congregation, and Untitled (Young black woman with studio background), 1938, 1931, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $11250
Lot 22, Walker Evans, Untitled (Subway Portrait), New York, 1938-1941, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $40000 (image above, left, via Phillips)
Lot 23, Walker Evans, Untitled (Subway Portrait), New York, 1938-1941, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $13750
Lot 46, Walker Evans, Tin Building, Moundville, Alabama, Summer, 1936, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $20000
Lot 77, W. Eugene Smith, Untitled from As From My Window I Sometimes Glance, 1957-1958, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10000
Lt86, Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Chicago, 1951, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11250
Lot 89, Harry Callahan, Photographs, 1964, estimated at $1200-1800, sold at $5250
Lot 95, Garry Winogrand, Apollo II Moon Shot, Cape Kennedy, Florida, 1969/Later, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $25000 (image above, right, via Phillips)
Lot 114, Robert Heinecken, Cliché Vary/Lesbianism, 1974, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $149000 (image above, middle, via Phillips)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
