With help from a major positive surprise from David Wojnarowicz, the Photographs sale last week at Bonhams in New York found its way to a workmanlike result. Against an overall Buy-In rate just over 35%, the mid range lots fared just well enough to bring the Total Sale Proceeds over the line to catch the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 137 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $788000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1141000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 89 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 48 |
| Buy In % | 35.04% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $789500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 115 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 70 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 35 |
| Low Buy In % | 30.43% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $740000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $421375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 22 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 13.64% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $401000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $368125 |
| 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 3, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1948/1972, estimated at $25000-35000; it sold for $35000. The top outcome of the sale was lot 118, David Wojnarowicz, Untitled (Buffaloes), 1988-1989, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $125000 (image featured in preview post).
73.03% 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):
Lot 16, Arnold Genthe, After the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906/1920s, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $16250 (image above, left, via Bonhams)
Lot 24, Margaret Bourke-White, Child in Augusta, Georgia, 1936, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at 18750 (image above, right, via Bonhams)
Lot 118, David Wojnarowicz, Untitled (Buffaloes), 1988-1989, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $125000
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
