The results from the recent Photographs sale at Sotheby’s were generally uneventful, with weakness at the middle and upper price tiers dampening the overall numbers. A Peter Hujar portrait of David Wojnarowicz was the top outcome of the sale, but with an overall Buy-In rate above 30%, even a handful of positive surprises couldn’t push the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $1.96M) up toward even 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 | 122 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2372000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $3573000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 85 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 37 |
| Buy In % | 30.33% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1964400 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 37 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 33 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Low Buy In % | 10.81% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $269000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $238800 |
| Mid Total Lots | 70 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 45 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 25 |
| Mid Buy In % | 35.71% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1544000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $876000 |
| Total High Lots | 15 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 6 |
| High Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1760000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $849600 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 31, Robert Frank, Pablo Mary and Andrea in Texas (U.S. 90, En Route to Del Rio, Texas), 1955/1960s, estimated at $200000-300000; it found a buyer at $180000, but it was not the top outcome of the sale. That honor went to lot 10, Peter Hujar, David Wojnarowicz Reclining (II), 1981, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $228000 (image above via Sotheby’s).
67.06% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 8 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 10, Peter Hujar, David Wojnarowicz Reclining (II), 1981, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $228000
Lot 32, Robert Frank, New Mexico (U. S. 285), 1955/before 1970, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $156000
Lot 37, Larry Sultan, Suburban Street, West Valley Studio (from The Valley), 1999, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $15600
Lot 46, Bill Owens, Selected Images from Suburbia (three prints), 1968-1974, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $16800
Lot 82, Robert Capa, Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot, 1948/posthumous, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $38400
Lot 89, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1954/later, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $50400
Lot 102, Peter Beard, Selected images (two prints), 1964/1991, 1965/1991, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $31200
Lot 110, Bert Stern, Marilyn in Vogue (from The Last Sitting), 1962/1994, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10800
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
