It’s hard to find much of a silver lining in the dark cloud that hovered over Bonhams recent Photographs sale. The overall Buy-In rate was over 45% and there were no positive surprises, so it should come as no surprise that the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the range by a wide margin.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 137 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $811500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1151500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 74 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 63 |
| Buy In % | 45.99% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $549000 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 112 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 59 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 53 |
| Low Buy In % | 47.32% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $625500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $264000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $526000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $285000 |
| 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 | NA |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 118, Nick Brandt, Portrait of Elephant in Dust, Amboseli, 2011, estimated at $30000-35000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $42500. The second highest outcome, lot 43, Ansel Adams, Aspens, Northern New Mexico, 1958/1973, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $30000, is shown above (via Bonhams).
A paltry 63.51% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were no surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate.
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
