It’s tough on an auction when its very high estimated top lot fails to sell. But this was the unfortunate reality at Heritage’s Photographs Signature Auction last week. In this case, it was an Ansel Adams print that failed to find a buyer, which of course, torpedoed the overall numbers for the sale.
Heritage had its higher volume approach on view again this season, with more than 400 lots on offer, most available under $10000. The overall Buy-In rate for the sale hovered above 21%, but the prices achieved continue to be damped by too many lots selling below their estimate ranges. Even with a handful of positive surprises, the top lot pass weighed too heavily, driving the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $1.06M) 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 | 417 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1444700 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2223200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 329 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 88 |
| Buy In % | 21.10% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1064150 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 399 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 316 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 83 |
| Low Buy In % | 20.80% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $1429200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $862275 |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 23.53% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $294000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $201875 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $500000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 73086, Ansel Adams, Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California, 1944/mid 1960s, estimated at $300000-500000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 73105, Ansel Adams, Thunderstorm, Yosemite Valley, California, 1945/1979, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $47500 (image above, via Heritage.)
Only 41.95% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 9 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Heritage):
Lot 73028, Harold Edgerton, Atomic Bomb Explosion, c1952/later, estimated at $1000-2000, sold at $8125
Lot 73043, André Kertész, Melancholic Tulip, 1939/later, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $7188
Lot 73057, Berenice Abbott, Fifth Avenue Houses, New York, 1936/later, estimated at $1500-2000, sold at $5250
Lot 73082, Ansel Adams, Cliff Creek Canon, 1927, estimated at $1500-2000, sold at $5000
Lot 73108, Robert Mapplethorpe, Untitled (Lily) from Flowers Portfolio, 1983, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $25000
Lot 73258, Yousuf Karsh, Winston Churchill, 1941, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $12500
Lot 73329, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1954/c1977, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11875
Lot 73380, Nancy Rexroth, A Woman’s Bed, Logan, Ohio; Mountain, Carpenter, Ohio (2 works), 1970-1973, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $8750
Lot 73399, Joel-Peter Witkin, Las Meninas, 1987, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $12188
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
