The recent Photographs sale at Sotheby’s in London (online) generally performed to expectations. The top lot Peter Beard print found a buyer within its estimate range, the overall Buy-In rate came in below 30%, and there were a few positive surprises to offset the passes. After the tally, the Total Sale Proceeds came in at roughly £670K, just under 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 | 69 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £698300 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1036700 |
| Total Lots Sold | 49 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 20 |
| Buy In % | 28.99% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £672846 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 33 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 22 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Low Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £196700 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £113919 |
| Mid Total Lots | 31 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 24 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Mid Buy In % | 22.58% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £480000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £360807 |
| Total High Lots | 5 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £360000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £198120 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 19, Peter Beard, Giraffes and Zebras, 1964/2007, estimated at £100000-150000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at £127000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
81.63% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 4 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 17, Walead Beshty, Six Magnet, Three Color Curl (CMY: Irvine, California, September 6th 2009, Fuji Crystal Archive Type C) (WB06709), 2009, estimated at £15000-20000, sold at £44450
Lot 44, Frank Horvat, Givenchy Hat B, 1958/2006, estimated at £3000-5000, sold at £15240
Lot 53, Helmut Newton, Eva with Pickelhaube, 1993, estimated at £7000-10000, sold at £21590
Lot 64, David LaChapelle, Nature’s Naked Loveliness, Moscow, 2003, estimated at £7000-10000, sold at £20320
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
