Auction Results: Post-War to Present, September 29, 2023 @Christie’s

Weakness in the highest priced lots dampened the photography results from the recent Post-War to Present sale at Christie’s. The top lot Andres Gursky print failed to sell, as did pricey lots by John Baldessari and Hiroshi Sugimoto, pushing a group Richard Prince appropriated portraits from the 1980s to the forefront. With no positive surprises to boost the numbers, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just over $830K) 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 18
Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate $1321000
Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate $1933000
Total Lots Sold 13
Total Lots Bought In 5
Buy In % 27.78%
Total Sale Proceeds $834120

Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):

Detailed Breakdown
Low Total Lots 1
Total Low Lots Sold 0
Total Low Lots Bought In 1
Low Buy In % 100.00%
Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots $8000
Total Proceeds from Low Lots $0
Mid Total Lots 8
Total Mid Lots Sold 7
Total Mid Lots Bought In 1
Mid Buy In % 12.50%
Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots $305000
Total Proceeds from Mid Lots $321300
Total High Lots 9
Total High Lots Sold 6
Total High Lots Bought In 3
High Buy In % 33.33%
Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots $1620000
Total Proceeds from High Lots $512820

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 374, Andreas Gursky, Dubai World III, 2008, estimated at $300000-500000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome in the sale was lot 343, Richard Prince, Untitled (Four women with hats), 1980, estimated at $150000-200000, sold at $163800 (image above, via Christie’s.)

Just 69.23% of the 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).

The complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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