Sotheby’s split its Photographs offerings into two sales, mixing in person and online auction methods. The top lot Diane Arbus twins found a buyer within its estimate range, but the rest of the results were on the soft side, with an overall Buy-In rate drifting above 30% and only a few positive surprises. The Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $3.46M) settled in 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 | 118 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3632000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $5430500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 82 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 36 |
| Buy In % | 30.51% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $3461258 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 32 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 22 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Low Buy In % | 31.25% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $255500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $181229 |
| Mid Total Lots | 64 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 45 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 19 |
| Mid Buy In % | 29.69% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1775000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $1442339 |
| Total High Lots | 22 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 7 |
| High Buy In % | 31.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $3400000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1837690 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 5, Diane Arbus, Identical Twins, Roselle, N. J., 1966, estimated at $500000-700000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $698500 (image above via Sotheby’s).
80.49% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 107, Ansel Adams, Pine Cone and Eucalyptus Leaves, c1932, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $20320
Lot 116, Ed Ruscha, Gasoline Stations (8 photographs, incomplete portfolio of 10), 1962/1989, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $165100
Lot 176, Edward Weston, Statement, Photographic Captions, Technical Notes, and Monograph Announcement, c1930, estimated at $2000-4000, sold at $13970
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Part I) and here (Part II).
