The volume strategy employed by Heritage at its recent photography auction largely had the expected results. On the positive side, the Total Sale Proceeds crossed $1M. On the negative side, that outcome was engineered with a 40+% Buy-In rate and more than half the lots that did sell finding buyers below their pre-sale estimate ranges. With prices generally low to start with, there were plenty of positive surprises when the bidding was more spirited. Overall, the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the pre-sale range by a decent margin – and whether that is deemed a success somewhat depends on your point of view.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):

The top lot by High estimate is lot 73018, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941/1970s, estimated at $30000-50000; it did not sell (image in preview post). The top outcome of the sale was lot 73296, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Children at a Puppet Theatre, Paris, 1963, estimated at $20000-30000, sold for $25000 (image above via Heritage).

Only 45.85% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 24 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 73101, William Klein, Stickball Player + Johnny, New York, 1954, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $20625 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73141, Bruce Davidson, The Gang, 1959, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10000 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73145, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Untitled (masked children in a barn), 1965, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6875 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73155, Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, Excitement, 1888, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11875 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73202, Richard Avedon, Mikhail Baryshnikov, 1974, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $6875 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73363, Unknown, Portrait of Baby (Hidden Mother), nd (19th century), estimated at $200-300, sold at $750

Lot 73414, John Coplans, Untitled (Judd and Child), nd, estimated at $400-600, sold at $1625

Lot 73449, Hector Garcia, Paso a la luz, 1963, estimated at $600-800, sold at $3500

Lot 73450, Margi Geerlinks, Pinocchio, 1999, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $7500 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73455, Kathy Grove, Other Series: After Smith, 1992, estimated at $200-300, sold at $1000

Lot 73466, Hill & Adamson, Greyfriar’s Churchyard, Dennistoun’s Tomb with the Artist and Gravedigger, circa 1843-46, estimated at $800-1200, sold at $2625

Lot 73500, Mark Klett, Lena by the Reflecting Pool, Muley Pt., 1996, estimated at $600-800, sold at $3500

Lot 73501, Ingar Krauss, Untitled (Hannah), 2003, estimated at $600-800, sold at $4000

Lot 73502, Sergio Larrain, Boy and Dog on Street, 1957, estimated at $600-800, sold at $2250

Lot 73539, Roger Mayne, Screaming Child, Southam St. (North Kensington), 1956, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $6250 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73555, Abelardo Morell, Brady Sitting, 1989, estimated at $800-1200, sold at $3750

Lot 73569, Henry Oltramare, Nude Study, circa 1895, estimated at $300-500, sold at $1062

Lot 73570, John O’Reilly, With Felipe Prospero, 1986, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3250

Lot 73571, France Scully Osterman, The Annunciation (triptych), 1999, estimated at $200-300, sold at $1562

Lot 73617, Malick Sidibé, Untitled (three photographs), 1980s, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3500

Lot 73625, Mark Steinmetz, Carey, Farmington, Georgia, 1996, estimated at $400-600, sold at $1812

Lot 73626, Mark Steinmetz, Venice, California, and Athens, Georgia, 1994, 1996, estimated at $400-600, sold at $4500 (image above via Heritage)

Lot 73654, Roman Vishniac, Mukacevo, 1938, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $5250

Lot 73661, Max Waldman, Ballet Rehearsal, 1975-76, estimated at $500-700, sold at $1625

The complete lot by lot results can be found here.