The online sale of Photographs at Bonhams last week delivered workmanlike results. The top lot Edward Weston nude failed to sell, giving an Ansel Adams moonrise the top lot honors. The overall Buy-In rate settled in just above 26%, and with a handful of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $875K) found their way to the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 203 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $800100 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1203400 |
| Total Lots Sold | 150 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 53 |
| Buy In % | 26.11% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $875814 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 189 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 138 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 51 |
| Low Buy In % | 26.98% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $872400 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $592394 |
| Mid Total Lots | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 7.69% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $271000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $282880 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 66, Edward Weston, Bertha Wardell, Glendale (Legs of a Dancer), 1927, estimated at $40000-60000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 40, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941/1963-1970, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $58880 (image above, via Bonhams.)
78.67% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 7 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Bonhams):
Lot 5, Luigi Ghirri, Riviera Romagnola (Rainbow Wall) (from ‘Paesaggio Italiano’), c1989, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10880
Lot 6, Lucas Samaras, Photo-Transformation (Eye), 1973, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $48640
Lot 22, Lewis Baltz, ‘Irvine’ (from ‘The Prototype Works’), 1970, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $30720
Lot 70, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Cain (Taormina, Sicily), c1900, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $8320
Lot 104, Edward Curtis, Canyon de Chelly, Navajo, 1904/before 1920, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $23040
Lot 105, Henry P. Bosse, ‘Minneiska, Minn.’ (from ‘Views on the Mississippi River’), 1885, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10880
Lot 150, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Immigrant Child, Ellis Island, 1950/later, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3328
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
