The various owner Photographs auction at Phillips in London last week generally hit its marks. The top three lots all found buyers, there were more than a handful of positive surprises, and the overall Buy-In rate came in under 24%, so many of the key metrics were in solid territory. As a result, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly £1.8M) settled into the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 162 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1569500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £2313500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 124 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 38 |
| Buy In % | 23.46% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1849188 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 40 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 32 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Low Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £163500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £122438 |
| Mid Total Lots | 99 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 74 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 25 |
| Mid Buy In % | 25.25% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £1175000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £995500 |
| Total High Lots | 23 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 21.74% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £975000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £731250 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between three lots: lot 21, Thomas Ruff, 16h 28m/-60 degrees, 1992, lot 40, Man Ray, La Priere, 1930/1971, and lot 41, Helena Almeida, Seduzir (Seduce), 2002, each estimated at £50000-70000. The Man Ray print was the top outcome of the sale at £100000 (image above, via Phillips), while the Ruff print sold at £56250 and the Almeida print sold at £47500.
93.55% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 8 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Phillips):
Lot 23, David LaChapelle, Rape of Africa, 2008, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £27500
Lot 24, David LaChapelle, Pieta with Courtney Love, 2006, estimated at £10000-15000, sold at £40000
Lot 57, Hiroki Inoue, Fox Chase: Wherever You Go, I Will Follow!, 2016, estimated at £5000-7000, sold at £27500
Lot 92, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Self-Portrait with Paige Powell, c1982-1984, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £30000
Lot 104, Helmut Newton, SUMO, 1999, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £6875
Lot 132, Peter Beard, Maureen and a late-night feeder, 2:00am, Hog Ranch, 1987/later, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £17500
Lot 140, Don McCullin, Shell-shocked US Marine, the Battle of Hue, 1968/later, estimated at £7000-9000, sold at £25000
Lot 145, Bill Brandt, Francis Bacon Walking on Primrose Hill, 1963/1979-1980, estimated at £3000-5000, sold at £12500
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
