Heritage doubled down on its high volume style at its Photographs Signature Auction last week. With more than 600 lots on offer (the vast majority available under $10000), the scale of the sale forced it to cross over into two days. While the overall Buy-In rate was a bit too high (over 28%), the real softness came in the pattern of too many lots selling below their estimate ranges – more than two thirds of the lots that found buyers did so below their estimates, so it was a buyer’s market to be sure. A handful of positive surprises helped the numbers a bit, but the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $1.23M) still 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 | 602 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1717800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2574200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 431 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 171 |
| Buy In % | 28.41% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1226344 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 576 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 414 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 162 |
| Low Buy In % | 28.13% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $1978200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $994469 |
| Mid Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 8 |
| Mid Buy In % | 32.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $476000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $231875 |
| 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 | $120000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 73297, Peter Beard, Kenya Tusker, for the End of the Game, June, 1960, 1960/1994, estimated at $80000-120000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 73107, Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907/1915, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $40000 (image above, via Heritage.)
Only 32.48% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 8 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Heritage):
Lot 73057, Charles Sheeler, Yankee Clipper, 1940, estimated at $1500-2000, sold at $6250
Lot 73079, Ansel Adams, Sand Dunes, Oceano, California, 1950/1978, estimated $6000-8000, sold at $17500
Lot 73107, Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907/1915, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $40000
Lot 73170, Sebastião Salgado, Fishing in the Piulaga Laguna during the Kuarup ceremony of the Waura Group, Upper Zingui Basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil, 2005, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $22500
Lot 73172, Sebastião Salgado, Gold Mine, Serra Pelada, Brazil, 1986, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $14375
Lot 73177, Horace Bristol, PBY Blister Gunner, 1944/later, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $18750
Lot 73188, Edward Weston, Nude, 1936/later, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $10625
Lot 73292, Christopher Williams, From Left to Right: Mita Wimboprasetyo, Wuri Wimboprasetyo, Sandra Kosasih, Nancy Allard performing an excerpt from Janger, (Nr. 1 and 2) (diptych), 2002, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $15000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
