Weakness among the top lots at the recent online Photographs sale at Sotheby’s in London ultimately dampened the overall results. The top lot Man Ray print failed to sell, as did two other high priced offerings (from Hans Bellmer and Wolfgang Tillmans), and with just a few low priced positive surprises on hand to balance the missing proceeds, the tally just didn’t add up. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds came in at roughly £675K, 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 | 89 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £906200 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1326800 |
| Total Lots Sold | 62 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 27 |
| Buy In % | 30.34% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £678510 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 39 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Low Buy In % | 25.64% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £155300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £130536 |
| Mid Total Lots | 44 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 30 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 14 |
| Mid Buy In % | 31.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £561500 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £369054 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £610000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £178920 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 29, Man Ray, Erotique Voilée, 1933, estimated at £180000-260000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 70, William Eggleston, Untitled (10.D.70.V1), ca.1970, estimated at £80000-120000, sold at £100800 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
98.39% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 4 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 9, Nick Knight, Black Rose, 1993, estimated at £1000-2000, sold at £6930
Lot 34, Richard Avedon, Elise Daniels, Turban by Paulette, Pre-Catelan, Paris, August 1948, 1948/1978, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £6300
Lot 35, Richard Avedon, Marlene Dietrich, Turban by Dior, The Ritz, Paris, August 1955, 1955/1978, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £7560
Lot 76, Malick Sidibé, A Terre Sous Leurs Pieds, 1972/1998, estimated at £1000-2000, sold at £5040
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
