The results of the various owner Photographs sale at Heritage last week were generally weak. While the overall Buy-In rate was under 20%, 57% of the lots that sold found buyers at prices below the low estimate, likely the result of both lesser known material and a thin bidding base. With that as a backdrop, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Total Sale Proceeds fell under the range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 121 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $497300 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $777500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 100 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 21 |
| Buy In % | 17.36% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $375457 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 106 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 89 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 17 |
| Low Buy In % | 16.04% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $394500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $218894 |
| Mid Total Lots | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 21.43% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $303000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $156563 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $80000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate is lot 74032, Irving Penn, Picasso, Cannes, 1957/before 1965, estimated at $60000-80000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 74084, Ansel Adams, Portfolio V, 1936-1960/1979, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $43750.
Only 43.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of three surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 74103, Cindy Sherman, Untitled (Lucille Ball), 1975/2001, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $23750 (image at right, top, via Heritage)
Lot 74111, Robert Mapplethorpe, Lady, Lisa Lyon, 1982, estimated at $600-800, sold at $1625 (image at right, bottom, via Heritage)
Lot 74115, Steven Meisel, Madonna Hitching, 1992/later, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10625 (image at right, middle, via Heritage)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
