The photography included in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Online sale at Christie’s in London last week generally met expectations. A handful of positive surprises balanced out lower outcomes for lots sold with no reserve, leading to Total Sales Proceeds for photography (of roughly £285K) that fell in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 41 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £260000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £388000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 39 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Buy In % | 4.88% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £286020 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £160000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £161406 |
| Mid Total Lots | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £228000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £124614 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £0 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 108, Irving Penn, Miles Davis, New York, 1986, 1986, estimated at £25000-35000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the sale was lot 97, Thomas Demand, Treppenhaus (Staircase), 1994, estimated at £12000-18000, sold at £37800 (image above, via Christie’s).
70.73% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 5 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 1, Wolfgang Tillmans, summer still life, 1995/1996, estimated at £6000-8000, sold at £17640
Lot 26, Anselm Kiefer, Untitled, 1980, estimated at £5000-7000, sold at £21420
Lot 97, Thomas Demand, Treppenhaus (Staircase), 1994, estimated at £12000-18000, sold at £37800
Lot 101, Gabriel Orozco, Cinco Problemas (Five Problems), 1992, estimated at £3000-5000, sold at £11340
Lot 122, Taryn Simon, Folder: Chiaroscurro, 2012, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £13860
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
