With no photography lots in the Evening sale and the top lot Andreas Gursky print withdrawn, it would be logical to assume that the photography results at Christie’s recent Post-War and Contemporary Art sales in new York would be muted. But even with the photography lots relegated to the Afternoon sale, they still performed respectably. While the overall Buy-In rate for photography topped 35%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography came in near the top end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 11 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1140000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1655000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 36.36% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1466500 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 4 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $95000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $52500 |
| 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 | $1560000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1414000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 843, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (What you see is what you get), 1996, estimated at $250000-350000. It was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $456500 (image above, via Christie’s).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Christie’s):
Lot 902, Gabriel Orozco, Atomists: Ascension, 1996, estimated at $60000-80000, sold at $187500
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening), here (Morning), and here (Afternoon).
