Bonhams was able to marginally improve on the now standard results for a photography sale this season, with a slightly lower buy in rate and total proceeds closer to the total Low estimate; overall, a solid performance, especially given its out of phase scheduling.

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

Total Lots: 166
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $642800
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $938300

Total Lots Sold: 111
Total Lots Bought In: 55
Buy In %: 33.13%
Total Sale Proceeds: $608231

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 149
Low Sold: 99
Low Bought In: 50
Buy In %: 33.56%
Total Low Estimate: $619300
Total Low Sold: $348981

Mid Total Lots: 17
Mid Sold: 12
Mid Bought In: 5
Buy In %: 29.41%
Total Mid Estimate: $319000
Total Mid Sold: $259250

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: $0
Total High Sold: NA

Only 62.12% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, so more than a third of the lots sold below their range. Surprises (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) included: lot 52, Yousuf Karsh, Sir Winston Churchill, 1941/1980s, at $6710, lot 102, Ray Metzker, Kayak, Frankfurt, 1995 at $9760, and lot 129, Larry Clark, Untitled from Tulsa, 1972/Later, at $7320.

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Bonhams & Butterfields
580 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022