Aside from a vintage Aenne Biermann double exposure print from the early 1930s that soared to more than 8X its high estimate, the results from the recent Photographs Now online sale at Bonhams in New York last week were lackluster. The material on offer was largely in the lowest price tier, and an overall Buy-In rate near 40% dampened to tally. Even with a number of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $400K) fell well below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 214 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $496100 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $743900 |
| Total Lots Sold | 131 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 83 |
| Buy In % | 38.79% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $400101 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 208 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 128 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 80 |
| Low Buy In % | 38.46% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $630900 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $359141 |
| Mid Total Lots | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $113000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $40960 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 145, Hiroshi Sugimoto, La Paloma, Encinitas, 1993, estimated at $18000-28000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 25, Aenne Biermann, ‘Strasse’ (Avenue des Champs-Élysées), c1931, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $28160 (image above, via Bonhams.)
59.54% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 10 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Bonhams):
Lot 24, Flor Garduño, ‘Canasta de Luz’ (Basket of Light, Guatemala), 1989/1993, estimated at $1200-1800, sold at $4864
Lot 25, Aenne Biermann, ‘Strasse’ (Avenue des Champs-Élysées), c1931, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $28160
Lot 26, Nina Katchadourian, Lavatory Self-Portrait in the Flemish Style #18-19 (Diptych), 2011, estimated at $500-1000, sold at $6144
Lot 36, Paul Fusco, Untitled (So-Long Bobby) from ‘RFK Funeral Train’, 1968/later, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $5376
Lot 43, John Gutmann, ‘Swing’ (‘Mardi Gras, New Orleans, La.’), 1937, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $5376
Lot 51, Edouard Boubat, ‘La Poule’, 1950, estimated at $1200-1800, sold at $5376
Lot 100, Garry Winogrand, Untitled (from ‘Women are Beautiful’), c1970/1970s, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3328
Lot 113, Adolph de Meyer, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, c1914, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $6144
Lot 114, George Platt Lynes, ‘Apollo + the Muses’ (Balanchine’s ‘Orpheus and Euridice’, with Lew Christensen and William Dollar), 1936, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $7040
Lot 148, Richard Misrach, ‘Waiting, Edwards’s Air Force Base’, 1983/1996, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $5632
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
