The photography included in the recent Post-War to Present and First Open sales at Christie’s performed respectably. The top lot Diane Arbus print found a buyer within its estimate range, and with an overall Buy-In rate for photography just over 30%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just over $2.0M) came in just above the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 29 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2038000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2968000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 9 |
| Buy In % | 31.03% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2075346 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 4 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $31000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $56826 |
| Mid Total Lots | 13 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 30.77% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $387000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $230580 |
| Total High Lots | 12 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 41.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2550000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1787940 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 121, Diane Arbus, Identical twins, Roselle, N.J., 1966/1966-1969, estimated at $500000-700000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $630000 (image above, via Christie’s).
90.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate)(image above, via Christie’s):
Lot 98, Vanessa Beecroft, VB35, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY 1998, 1998, estimated at $5000-10000, sold at $37800
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Post-War to Present) and here (First Open).
