While there were no positive surprises for the photography included in Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening and Day sales in London last week, that didn’t prevent the sales from delivering solid results. With general strength among the high priced photo lots and an overall Buy-In rate for photography at 25%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography easily settled into the middle of the pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 36 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £2096000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £2971000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 27 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 9 |
| Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £2311500 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | NA |
| Mid Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Mid Buy In % | 35.29% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £291000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £195750 |
| Total High Lots | 19 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 15.79% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £2680000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £2115750 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 76, Andreas Gursky, Albertville, 1992, and lot 80, Andreas Gursky, Hong Kong Borse II, 1995, both estimated at £300000-400000; Albertville did not sell, while Hong Kong Borse II sold at £350500. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 73, Thomas Struth, National Gallery 2, London, 2001, estimated at £200000-300000, sold at £386500 (image featured in the preview post).
96.30% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). The closest outcome to a surprise as lot 332, Andreas Gursky, Fortuna Dusseldorf, 2000, estimated at £50000-70000, sold at £134500 (image above, via Christie’s).
Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
