Auction Results: Photographs from the Ginny Williams Collection, July 14, 2020 @Sotheby’s

The results from the recent Photographs from the Ginny Williams Collection sale at Sotheby’s in New York solidly met expectations. The top Lot Tina Modotti print sold above its estimate range (at $500K), the overall Buy-In rate was under 25%, and half a dozen positive surprises pumped the numbers up a bit. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $2.3M) came in near the top of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 94
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $1583800
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $2425200
Total Lots Sold 71
Total Lots Bought In 23
Buy In % 24.47%
Total Sale Proceeds $2292250

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

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 36
Total Low Lots Sold 31
Total Low Lots Bought In 5
Low Buy In % 13.89%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $238200
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $194750
Mid Total Lots 53
Total Mid Lots Sold 35
Total Mid Lots Bought In 18
Mid Buy In % 33.96%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $1217000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $841250
Total High Lots 5
Total High Lots Sold 5
Total High Lots Bought In 0
High Buy In % 0.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $970000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $1256250

The top lot by High estimate was lot 58, Tina Modotti, Interior of Church Tower at Tepotzotlán, 1924, estimated at $200000-300000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $500000 (image above via Sotheby’s.)

74.65% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):

Lot 16, Robert Mapplethorpe, Lisa Lyon, 1981, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $106250

Lot 47, Margaret Bourke-White, Sierra Madre Mountains, 1935, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $81250

Lot 52, Ruth Bernhard, Two Leaves, 1952/later, estimated at $800-1200, sold at $2500

Lot 62, Edward Weston, Dunes, Oceano, 1936, estimated at $120000-180000, sold at $375000

Lot 63, Dorothea Lange, White Angel Breadline, San Francisco, 1933/posthumous, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $20000

Lot 67, Dorothea Lange, One of the Homeless Wandering Boys Drifting in the Country Before CCC, c1933, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $37500

The complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ruth Bernhard, Tina Modotti, Sotheby's

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