Christie’s ran its fall Photographs sale in New York last week as an online only affair, and while the sale generally met expectations, the results were on the soft side. The top lot Alfred Stieglitz city scene found a buyer below its estimate range, and was then topped by a Man Ray print of Lee Miller, which more than doubled its high estimate. But the overall Buy-In rate came in above 35%, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $3.1M) that came in just 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 | 143 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3484000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $5134000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 91 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 52 |
| Buy In % | 36.36% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $3122028 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 41 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 26 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 15 |
| Low Buy In % | 36.59% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $303000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $170856 |
| Mid Total Lots | 77 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 46 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 31 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.26% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1816000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $907452 |
| Total High Lots | 25 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 6 |
| High Buy In % | 24.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $3015000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $2043720 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 7, Alfred Stieglitz, From the Back Window – ‘291’, 1915, estimated at $300000-500000; it sold at $252000. The top outcome of the sale was lot 22, Man Ray, Lee Miller, c1930, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $378000 (image above, via Christie’s.)
79.12% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 22, Man Ray, Lee Miller, c1930, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $378000
Lot 90, Joel-Peter Witkin, The Fool, Budapest, 1993, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $18900
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
