It was an uneventfully steady outcome for the photography buried in the Post-War and Contemporary Art sales at Christie’s in London last week. With an overall Buy-In rate for photography hovering near 25% and no major surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds comfortably settled into the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 26 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £872000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1255000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 7 |
| Buy In % | 26.92% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1134875 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £5000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £5625 |
| Mid Total Lots | 15 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Mid Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £195000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £166250 |
| Total High Lots | 10 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 20.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1055000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £963000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 63, Andreas Gursky, Hong Kong Borse II, 1995, estimated at £250000-350000; it was also the top photography outcome of the two sales at £302500 (image in preview post).
94.74% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was only 1 surprise in the two sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 223, Candida Höfer, Biblioteca General da Universidade de Coimbra IV, 2006, estimated at £25000-35000, sold at £80500 (image above, left, via Christie’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
