While Heritage was able to secure several more high priced consignments than usual for its extra large Photographs Signature Auction last week, there wasn’t enough interest in those lots to keep the sale afloat. While the overall Buy-In rate came in just above 20%, there were once again too many lots sold below their estimate ranges, with nearly two thirds of the lots that found a buyer doing so underneath the low estimate. With only a few positive surprises to offset that consistent weakness, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $1.09M) fell well 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 | 482 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1904100 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2893900 |
| Total Lots Sold | 382 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 100 |
| Buy In % | 20.75% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1089563 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 458 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 371 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 87 |
| Low Buy In % | 19.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $1637900 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $875813 |
| Mid Total Lots | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $326000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $108750 |
| Total High Lots | 9 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 7 |
| High Buy In % | 77.78% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $930000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $105000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 73096, Robert Frank, New Orleans (Trolley), 1956/1977, estimated at $200000-300000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 73020, Peter Beard, Elephant, 1965/2014, estimated at $60000-80000, sold at $62500 (image above, via Heritage.)
Only 36.91% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 5 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Heritage):
Lot 73059, Herb Ritts, Madonna, Tokyo, 1987, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11875
Lot 73149, Inge Morath, Llama in Times Square, New York, 1957, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $20000
Lot 73217, Edmund Kesting, Tanz Dore Hoyer, Dresden, 1939, estimated at $1000-2000, sold at $4500
Lot 73262, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1944/c1981, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $6875
Lot 73409, Albert Watson, Mick Jagger, Los Angeles, 1992/later, estimated at $2000-4000, sold at $12500
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
