Auction Results: Photographs from the Martin Z. Margulies Foundation Part II, October 9, 2024 @Phillips

The results from the second part of the Martin Margulies collection sale at Phillips last week in New York were generally softer than expected. Following up on Part I of the sale last spring (results here), Part II had somewhat less photographic value on offer. The top lot Thomas Struth gathering of 1980s prints failed to sell, dropping the top lot honors to works by Ed Ruscha and Gregory Crewdson. The overall Buy-In rate leaked up above 26%, and with just one positive surprise to push up the tally, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $1.0M) fell below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.

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

Summary Statistics
Total Lots 122
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $1117000
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $1658000
Total Lots Sold 90
Total Lots Bought In 32
Buy In % 26.23%
Total Sale Proceeds $1017905

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

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 83
Total Low Lots Sold 65
Total Low Lots Bought In 18
Low Buy In % 21.69%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $561000
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $410210
Mid Total Lots 35
Total Mid Lots Sold 23
Total Mid Lots Bought In 12
Mid Buy In % 34.29%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $757000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $455295
Total High Lots 4
Total High Lots Sold 2
Total High Lots Bought In 2
High Buy In % 50.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $340000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $152400

The top lot by High estimate was lot 42, Thomas Struth, Selected Images of the Ruhr Valley from Unconscious Places, 1984-1989, estimated at $100000-150000; it did not sell. the top outcome of the sale was tied between two lots, both selling at $76200: lot 24, Ed Ruscha, Parking Lots, 1967/1999, estimated at $40000-60000, and lot 47, Gregory Crewdson, Untitled, 2003/2024, estimated at $40000-60000 (images above via Phillips).

75.56% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above via Phillips):

Lot 110, Dorothea Lange, Migrant Worker, Coachella Valley, California, 1938, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $24130

The complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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Read more about: Dorothea Lange, Ed Ruscha, Gregory Crewdson, Phillips

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