The results from the recent single collector sale of photographs at Bonhams in New York last week weren’t hugely noteworthy. The top lot honors went to a Peter Beard work (within its estimate range), the overall Buy-In rate came in near 35%, and there were a handful of largely lower priced positive surprises. When the online timers were all expired, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $305K) came 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 | 186 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $371000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $565000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 121 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 65 |
| Buy In % | 34.95% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $304704 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 181 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 119 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 62 |
| Low Buy In % | 34.25% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $470000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $270144 |
| Mid Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 60.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $95000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $34560 |
| 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 tied between two lots, each estimated at $15000-25000: lot 319, Chris Levine, Lightness of Being, 2004, and lot 339, Peter Beard, Loliondo Lion Charge, 1964/later; the Levine print did not sell, while the Beard work was the top outcome of the sale at $20480 (images above, via Bonhams.)
78.51% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Bonhams):
Lot 321, Harry Benson, Kate (Kate Moss, Paris), 1993/2014, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $8960
Lot 341, Walker Evans, Head (Plaster Reproduction), Ife, British Nigeria, Yoruba, Profile View, 1935, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3072
Lot 354, Rudy Burckhardt, Willem de Kooning (Loft on West 22nd Street, New York), 1937/later, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $4608
Lot 368, James Welling, Glass House 0463, 2009, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3840
Lot 378, George Platt Lynes, Male Nude Leaning, c1950, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $4608
Lot 395, Elliott Erwitt, Honfleur, France, 1968/1990s, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $5376
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
