The results for the photography included in Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening and Day sales in London last week were driven down by the failure of the two top photo lots to find buyers. With an overall Buy-In rate under 14%, we might have expected the Total Sale Proceeds to cover the top end of the range; as it was, they fell meaningfully below the low end.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 22 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £734000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1068000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 13.64% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £552500 |
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 | £9375 |
| Mid Total Lots | 14 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 7.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £218000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £216125 |
| Total High Lots | 7 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 2 |
| High Buy In % | 28.57% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £845000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £327000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 21, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our prices are insane!), 1997, at £200000-300000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the two sales was lot 251, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your life is a perpetual insomnia!), 1984, estimated at £60000-80000, sold at £127875 (image at right, top, via Christie’s).
89.47% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above their estimate. There was only one surprise in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 285, Andreas Gursky, Gelsenkirchen, Ratingen, Moers, 1988, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £27500 (image at right, bottom, via Christie’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
