The photography included in Christie’s recent Post-War and Contemporary Art early season sale in New York generated little in the way of collector excitement. The top lot failed to sell, the overall Buy-In rate was over 40%, and none of the photographs that sold found buyers did so above their pre-sale estimate ranges. Not surprisingly, the Total Sale Proceeds tumbled to less than half the aggregate pre-sale estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 22 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $746500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1059500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 9 |
| Buy In % | 40.91% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $368375 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| 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 | $19500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $9625 |
| Mid Total Lots | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Mid Buy In % | 45.45% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $310000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $125000 |
| Total High Lots | 8 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 4 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $730000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $233750 |
The top photographic lot by High estimate was lot 76, John Baldessari, Exulting Figure (With Coins) and Witness, 1990, estimated at $140000-180000 (image in preview post); it did not sell. The top photographic outcome of the sale was lot 60, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Seeing through you), 2004, estimated at $60000-80000,sld at $75000 (9mage bove via Christie’s).
Only 61.54% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate). In fact, there were no photo lots that sold above their pre-sale estimate ranges, so there was noting even close to a positive surprise for us to feature.
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
