A string of prints by Wolfgang Tillmans drove the photography results at the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day sale at Christie’s in London last week. While the top lot Barbara Kruger print passed, a Tillmans abstraction filled the void, and several other Tillmans works were positive surprises or sold well. In the end, the overall Buy-In rate for photography was a respectable 25%, but the Total Sales Proceeds for photography (of roughly £435K) came in just 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 | 12 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £450000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £646000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £435960 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £21000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £46620 |
| Mid Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £125000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £156240 |
| Total High Lots | 4 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £500000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £233100 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 251, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Only the unborn have your right to life), 1986, estimated at £150000-200000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 279, Wolfgang Tillmans, Urgency XIX, 2006, estimated at £120000-180000, sold at £126000 (image above, via Christie’s.)
88.89% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 3 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 260, Gerhard Richter, MV.177, 2011, estimated at £25000-35000, sold at £88200
Lot 278, Wolfgang Tillmans, JAL, 1997/1998, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £35280
Lot 280, Wolfgang Tillmans, pumpkin, tomate & pomme granate, 1995/1999, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £30240
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
