A large scale Polaroid by Natalie White jumped to more than 18X its high estimate at the recent online sale of photographs at Bonhams. Aside from that single very unexpected surprise, the rest of the sale didn’t deliver much in the way of excitement. With an overall Buy-In rate of roughly 36% and just a few positive surprises, even with the push by the White print, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $302K) didn’t reach 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 | 145 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $360900 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $534400 |
| Total Lots Sold | 93 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 52 |
| Buy In % | 35.86% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $302198 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 139 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 90 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 49 |
| Low Buy In % | 35.25% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $427400 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $251126 |
| Mid Total Lots | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $107000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $51072 |
| 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 3, Helmut Newton,“Self Portrait with Wife and Models”, Vogue Studio, Paris, 1961, estimated at $25000-35000; it sold at $35840, but it was not the top outcome of the sale. That honor went to lot 139, Natalie White, Pleione (from Transmissions from Space), 2018, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $46080 (image above, via Bonhams.)
Just 53.76% 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 Bonhams):
Lot 12, Lee Miller, Paris Under Snow (Eiffel Tower seen from the Palisade Chaillot), 1945/posthumous, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $3840
Lot 75, George Platt Lynes, Narcissus (from Mythology), c1939, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $9600
Lot 139, Natalie White, Pleione (from Transmissions from Space), 2018, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $46080
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
