The single owner SPOTLIGHT sale of photographs at Phillips in London last week was a no reserves affair, so all the lots found buyers at whatever prices the market would bear. Just 55% of the lots sold at or above their estimate ranges and there were only a few positive surprises, but even so, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly £184K) came in near the top of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range, so the sale got its job done.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 49 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £131800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £201300 |
| Total Lots Sold | 49 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £183962 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 48 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 48 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £183300 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £159832 |
| Mid Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £18000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £24130 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 1, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1954/later, estimated at £12000-18000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at £24130 (image above, via Phillips).
Just 55.10% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 4 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Phillips):
Lot 13, Terry O’Neill, Brigitte Bardot, 1970/later, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £8255
Lot 14, Terry O’Neill, Raquel Welch, 1970/later, estimated at £1000-2000, sold at £4826
Lot 19, Horst P. Horst, Coco Chanel, Paris, 1937/later, estimated at £2500-3500, sold at £8255
Lot 43, Terry O’Neill, Britt Ekland and Peter Sellers, 1966/later, estimated at £1500-2500, sold at £5715
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
