The results of the recent Photographs sale at Phillips in London fell into the forgettably routine category. With only a few positive surprises (most notably the cover lot Blumenfeld which jumped to just over £80000) and an overall Buy-In rate over 30%, the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 142 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1214800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1722200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 97 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 45 |
| Buy In % | 31.69 |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1189625 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 40 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Low Buy In % | 27.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £153200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £114375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 89 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 60 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 29 |
| Mid Buy In % | 32.58% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £1206000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £702250 |
| Total High Lots | 13 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 38.46% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £543000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £373000 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 66, William Eggleston, Untitled (Near Minter City and Glendora, Mississippi), 1970/1999 (image above, middle, via Phillips), and lot 75, Desiree Dolron, Xteriors I, 2001/2004, both estimated at £50000-70000. The Eggleston sold for £62500, while the Dolron sold for £56250. The top outcome of the sale was lot 108, Erwin Blumenfeld, Manina, Paris, 1937/1949-1951, estimated at £30000-40000, sold at £80500 (image in the preview post).
95.88% 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 12, Guy Bourdin, (Untitled nude and egg), 1971, estimated at £2500-3000, sold at £6875 (image above, right, via Phillips)
Lot 108, Erwin Blumenfeld, Manina, Paris, 1937/1949-1951, estimated at £30000-40000, sold at £80500
Lot 130, Peter Beard, Francis Bacon on his roof at 80 Narrow Street, London, 1972/later, estimated at £7000-9000, sold at £30000 (image above, middle, via Phillips)
Lot 139, Tim Parchikov, Bee-garden, Islavskoe from Bizzarro, 2010, estimated at £2500-3500, sold at £7500 (image above, left, via Phillips)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
