An overall Buy-In rate over 39% and some softness in the higher price tiers came together to dampen the results of the two-part Photographs auction last week at Sotheby’s. A vintage “Migrant Mother” print by Dorothea Lange took the top lot honors, but there weren’t enough positive surprises to buoy the overall numbers, leading to Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $2.52M) that 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 | 182 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3389000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $5054000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 111 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 71 |
| Buy In % | 39.01% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2523136 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 68 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 44 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 24 |
| Low Buy In % | 35.29% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $543000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $298240 |
| Mid Total Lots | 85 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 52 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 33 |
| Mid Buy In % | 38.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1871000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $1202176 |
| Total High Lots | 29 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 14 |
| High Buy In % | 48.28% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2640000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1022720 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 352, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Radio City Music Hall (New York City), 1978, estimated at $200000-300000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sales was lot 321, Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, Nipomo California, 1936/1936-1937, estimated at $100000-150000, sold at $96000 (image above via Sotheby’s).
70.27% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 8 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 333, Robert Rauschenberg, Signs (Foster 155), 1970, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $64000
Lot 350, Shomei Tomatsu, Wristwatch Stopped at 11:02, August 9, 1945, Nagasaki, 1965/later, estimated at $12000-18000, sold at $70400
Lot 901, Taryn Simon, Agreement to develop Park Hyatt St. Kitts under the St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment Program. Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 16, 2012, 2015, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $70400
Lot 907, Francesca Woodman, From Space², Providence, Rhode Island, 1976/posthumous, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $53760
Lot 922, Walker Evans, View of Railroad Station, Edwards, Mississippi, 1936/Late 1930s or early 1940s, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $19200
Lot 960, Berenice Abbott, New York at Night, 1932/later, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $32000
Lot 998, Gerhard Richter, Untitled (Self-Portrait), 1971, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $83200
Lot 1025, Helmut Newton, Office Love, Paris, 1976/later, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $32000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Part I) and here (Part II).
