The results from the Photographs Signature Auction earlier this week at Heritage were generally uneventful. The top lot Ansel Adams print found a buyer within its estimate range, and the overall Buy-In rate settled in at a respectable 22%. In the end, a few too many of the lots that did sell did so below their estimates, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $875K) which came in meaningfully underneath 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 | 273 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $985500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1492500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 213 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 60 |
| Buy In % | 21.98% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $875398 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 245 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 191 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 54 |
| Low Buy In % | 22.04% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $985500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $543710 |
| Mid Total Lots | 28 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 22 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 21.43% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $507000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $331688 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 732022, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941/1973-1977, estimated at $30000-50000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $42500 (image above, via Heritage.)
Only 46.48% 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 73037, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Melon Salesman and Fiddler, Scottsboro, Alabama, 1936/1994, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $5125
Lot 73044, Leonard Freed, Fire Hydrant, Harlem, New York, 1963/later, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $5000
Lot 73095, Mike Mitchell, The Beatles at the First US Concert Tour, 1964, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $35000
Lot 73238, Richard Misrach, 12.23.97 5:09 p.m., 1997/2001, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $12500
Lot 73242, Richard Misrach, 4.11.99 7:37 p.m., 1999/2005, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $8125
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
