The 2024 auction season for photography got off to a muted start at an early season online only sale at Grisebach in Berlin this past weekend. The results were underwhelming, with the top lot Sebastião Salgado print failing to sell and an overall Buy-In rate that came in near 50%. When the last timer ended, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly €125K) fell 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 | 109 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €244400 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €336700 |
| Total Lots Sold | 56 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 53 |
| Buy In % | 48.62% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €126362 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 106 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 55 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 51 |
| Low Buy In % | 48.11% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €264700 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €110487 |
| Mid Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 66.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €72000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €15875 |
| 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 1785, Sebastião Salgado, ”Antarctica”, Iceberg between the Paulet Islands and the Shetland Islands, 2005/2023, estimated at €30000-40000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 1779, Bettina Rheims, ”7 Novembre – Paris”, from the series ”Chambre Close”, 1991, estimated at €15000-20000, sold at €15875 (image above, via Grisebach).
89.29% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Grisebach):
Lot 1711, Sander Coers, POST No. 32, 2023, estimated at €600-800, sold at €1651
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
