It was a workmanlike outing at the recent Photographs sale at Christie’s in London. While the overall Buy-In rate creeped up toward 30%, there were enough positive surprises to keep the momentum up, leading to Total Sale Proceeds that hit the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range. A Robert Mapplethorpe double portrait took the top lot honors.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 121 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1345000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1893000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 86 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 35 |
| Buy In % | 28.93% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1578875 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 22 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Low Buy In % | 31.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £97000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £76875 |
| Mid Total Lots | 81 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 59 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 22 |
| Mid Buy In % | 27.16% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £902000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £820750 |
| Total High Lots | 18 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 6 |
| High Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £894000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £681250 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 63, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken Moody and Robert Sherman, 1984, estimated at £70000-90000. It was also the top outcome of the sale at £118750 (image above, via Christie’s).
97.67% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 7 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Christie’s):
Lot 42, Torbjørn Rødland, Nudist no. 8, 1999, estimated at £2500-3500, sold at £8125
Lot 47, Pieter Hugo, Mummy Ahmadu and Mallam Mantari Lamal with Mainasara, Abuja, Nigeria, 2005, estimated at £15000-20000, sold at £56250
Lot 62, Irving Penn, Nude 151, 1950/1976, estimated at £10000-15000, sold at £35000
Lot 84, Daniele Tamagni, Willy Covary, 2007, estimated at £3000-5000, sold at £10625
Lot 115, Malick Sidibé, Nuit de Noel (Happy-club), 1963/2002, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £15000
Lot 117, Tim Flach, Ya Yun Elegant, 2012/2017, estimated at £12000-18000, sold at £40000
Lot 119, Nick Brandt, Zebras Turning Heads, Ngorongoro Crater, 2005, estimated at £3000-5000, sold at £10625
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
