The recent online Photographs sale at Sotheby’s in London didn’t generate much heat. Led by a top lot Helmut Newton diptych which didn’t sell, the glamour heavy selection suffered from a too high Buy-In rate (near 39%), and too few positive surprises (3) to pick up the slack. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds came in at roughly £620K, 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 | 93 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £677200 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £990000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 57 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 36 |
| Buy In % | 38.71% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £619164 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 23 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Low Buy In % | 34.78% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £90000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £61488 |
| Mid Total Lots | 65 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 41 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 24 |
| Mid Buy In % | 36.92% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £725000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £500976 |
| Total High Lots | 5 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 80.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £175000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £56700 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 5, Helmut Newton, ‘Walking Women’, Dressed and Naked (diptych), French Vogue, Paris, 1981, 1981, estimated at £30000-50000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 25, Peter Beard, ‘Magritte Rammé and World Record Cow Elephant Tusk’, Montauk Point, 1976, 1976, estimated at £25000-35000, sold at £56700 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
94.74% 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 Sotheby’s):
Lot 31, Nick Brandt, ‘Leopard in Crook of Tree’, Nakuru, 2007, estimated at £7000-10000, sold at £25200
Lot 38, Bert Stern, ‘Marilyn Monroe Orange Roses’, (From the Last Sitting For Vogue), 1962, 1962/2010, estimated at £3000-5000, sold at £12600
Lot 93, Russell James, ‘Kendall Running’, Santa Barbara Beach, 2018, estimated at £7000-10000, sold at £35280
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
