John Beasley Greene’s 19th century album of images from Egypt and Algeria saved the day at the various owner Photographs sale at Sotheby’s last week in London. Coming in at a healthy £482500, more than three times its pre-sale high estimate, it was the clear highlight of an otherwise workmanlike sale. The overall Buy-In rate nestled up near 40%, so the auction needed the unexpected extra jolt the Greene album provided to keep the Total Sale Proceeds in the middle of the pre sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 148 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1552000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £2207000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 89 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 59 |
| Buy In % | 39.86% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1851575 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 21 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Low Buy In % | 57.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £94000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £35375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 111 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 71 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 40 |
| Mid Buy In % | 36.04% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £1223000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £855700 |
| Total High Lots | 16 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 7 |
| High Buy In % | 43.75% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £890000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £960500 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 92, Richard Avedon, Avedon/Paris, 1978, estimated at £120000-180000; it sold for £134500. The top outcome of the sale was lot 30, John Beasley Greene, Album of Egypt and Algeria, 1852-1856, estimated at £100000-150000, sold at £482500 (image in the preview post).
97.75% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 4 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 30, John Beasley Greene, Album of Egypt and Algeria, 1852-1856, estimated at £100000-150000, sold at £482500
Lot 33, Frederick Evans, Poplars on a French River, 1900, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £16250 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 103, Peter Lindbergh, The Wild Ones: Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder, Stephanie Seymour, Vogue US, Brooklyn, 1991, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £37500 (image above, middle, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 146, Irving Penn, Anemone/Anemone Coronaria: Irna Blue, New York, 2006, estimated at £14000-18000, sold at £69700 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
