Bonhams brought the 2014 auction season for photography to a close with an indifferent thud. Its fashion themed sale last week stumbled over the finish line with an overall Buy-In rate over 67% and Total Sale Proceeds that missed the pre-sale estimate range by a mile. Given the dismal results of this experiment, it’s time for a new late season strategy.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 101 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $802800 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1112200 |
| Total Lots Sold | 33 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 68 |
| Buy In % | 67.33% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $255875 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 71 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 27 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 44 |
| Low Buy In % | 61.97% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $399200 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $149625 |
| Mid Total Lots | 29 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 23 |
| Mid Buy In % | 79.31% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $653000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $106250 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00 |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 28, Irving Penn, Women in Wartime (Dorian Leigh and Evelyn Tripp), New York, 1950/1984, estimated at $40000-60000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 31, Helmut Newton, TV Murder, Cannes (Unique Version), 1975, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $25000 (image in preview post).
75.76% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was only 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 78, Bruce Weber, Peter at the Chop Suey, NYC, 1999, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $15000 (image above, via Bonhams)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
