It was largely a low priced affair at the online sale of Photographs at Bonhams last week. Aside from the top lot Ansel Adams landscape (that found a buyer within its estimate range), all the rest of the lots on offer were available below $10K. A decent number of positive surprises offset an overall Buy-In rate over 16% and almost 42% of the sold lots selling below their estimate ranges, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $315K) that tallied up just above 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 | 162 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $304000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $458200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 136 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 26 |
| Buy In % | 16.05% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $315990 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 161 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 135 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 26 |
| Low Buy In % | 16.15% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $408200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $282710 |
| Mid Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $50000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $33280 |
| 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 58, Ansel Adams, Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, From Lone Pine, California, 1944/1978, estimated at $30000-50000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $33280 (image above, via Bonhams.)
Just 58.09% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 9 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Bonhams):
Lot 12, Henry Gilpin, Highway 1, Big Sur, California, 1965/1988, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $8320
Lot 14, Kansuke Yamamoto, Untitled, 1938, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $16640
Lot 16, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Seduction (from ‘Phantom Limb’), 1986, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $4864
Lot 53, Josef Sudek, Untitled (Landscape), c1970, estimated at $1500-2000, sold at $4096
Lot 61, Henry Gilpin, Lighthouse, Point Sur, California, 1966/1988, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $4096
Lot 68, Chris McCaw, Sunburned GSP #815 (Mojave), 2014, estimated at $1500-2000, sold at $4608
Lot 123, William Klein, Gun 1, 103rd & Broadway, New York, 1955, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $4864
Lot 145, Berenice Abbott, Shelter on the Water Front, Coenties Slip, Pier 5, East River, Manhattan, 1938, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $9600
Lot 161, David LaChapelle, Angelina Jolie: Horse Play, 2001, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $7040
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
