Given that Artcurial’s various owner photography sale was originally scheduled for November 14, the day after the Paris attacks, the auction was delayed a week and took place on November 21. This unforeseen rescheduling certainly put a major damper on the bidder interest in the sale, and the overall Buy-In rate for the week-later sale came in at nearly 65%. Similarly, the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the pre-sale estimate by a wide margin.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 118 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €645400 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €894500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 43 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 76 |
| Buy In % | 64.41% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €332050 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 78 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 49 |
| Low Buy In % | 62.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €276500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €109740 |
| Mid Total Lots | 37 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 24 |
| Mid Buy In % | 64.86% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €438000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €172770 |
| Total High Lots | 3 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 66.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €120000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €49540 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 60, Erwin Blumenfeld, Manina Blumenfeld, 14 ans, 1932/1949, estimated at €40000-60000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 57, Man Ray, L’Etoile de Mer, 1928, estimated at €40000-50000, sold at €49540. (image in preview post)
95.35% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 2 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Artcurial):
Lot 3, Berenice Abbott, Manhattan Bridge, Walking, New York, 1936/later, estimated at €3500-4500, sold at €14300
Lot 122, Liu Bolin, Hiding in France, 2011, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €18200
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
