Weakness in the highest priced lots dampened the photography results from the recent Post-War to Present sale at Christie’s. Of the two top photo lots on offer, the Thomas Struth print sold in its estimate range while the Barbara Kruger print didn’t sell, with several other high priced works also failing to find buyers. With an overall Buy-In rate for photography near 35% and only one positive surprise, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just over $1.2M) came in well below 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 | 32 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2031000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2927000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 11 |
| Buy In % | 34.38% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1211112 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| 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 | $28000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $22932 |
| Mid Total Lots | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 36.36% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $349000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $199080 |
| Total High Lots | 18 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 11 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 7 |
| High Buy In % | 38.89% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2550000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $989100 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, both estimated at $250000-350000: lot 128, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Wish you were here), 1988, and lot 434, Thomas Struth, Duomo di Firenze, Florenz, 2004/2005; the top photography outcome of the sale was the Struth print, sold at $315000 (image above, via Christie’s), while the Kruger print did not sell.
76.19% 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 539, Massimo Vitali, Punta Tegge, 2013, estimated at $8000-12000, sold at $26460
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
