The Photographs sale at Bonhams in New York last week stumbled out of the gate (with 8 straight passes) and never recovered. The Buy-In rate eventually came in at a whopping 68%, so there were clearly some bargains to be had. A Becher typology was the top outcome of the sale and a Werner Rohde still life (with a 1929 Film und Foto label) quadrupled its high estimate, but the rest of the news was more depressing. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds tallied up at less than $500K, far 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 | 153 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1234700 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1792300 |
| Total Lots Sold | 48 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 105 |
| Buy In % | 68.63% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $466172 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 108 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 39 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 69 |
| Low Buy In % | 63.89% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $562300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $219845 |
| Mid Total Lots | 42 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 34 |
| Mid Buy In % | 80.95% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $930000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $146252 |
| Total High Lots | 3 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 66.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $300000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $100075 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 11 Andres Serrano, Piss Christ, 1987, estimated at $80000-120000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 121, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Six Industrial Facades, 1974-1985, estimated at $80000-100000, sold at $100075 (image above, via Bonhams).
93.75% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Bonhams):
Lot 12, Anonymous, X-ray of a cadaver, c1910, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3060
Lot 60, Werner Rohde, Karneval, 1928, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $37575
Lot 77, Werner Mantz, Untitled, 1929, estimated at $3000-4000, sold at $10700
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
