As expected, Sotheby’s single owner sale of select vintage material earlier this week performed extremely well. With prints from Weston ($908K), Steichen ($629K), Coburn ($605K), Man Ray ($485K), and Sheeler ($425K) all delivering top dollar prices and an overall Buy-In rate under 13%, it’s not at all surprising that the Total Sale Proceeds bested the top of the estimate range by nearly a million dollars.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 31 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2934000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $4492000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 27 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 12.90% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $5414750 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $24000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $35000 |
| Mid Total Lots | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 14.29% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $198000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $384375 |
| Total High Lots | 21 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 18 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 14.29% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $4270000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $4995375 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 19, Man Ray, Rayograph (with Coil, Handkerchief, and Chain), 1924, estimated at $400000-600000; it sold for $485000. The top outcome of the sale was lot 12, Edward Weston, Shells, 1927, estimated at $300000-500000, sold at $905000 (image above, left, via Sotheby’s).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were 2 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 6, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Paisaje de Equitación, 1952, estimated at $30000-50000, sold at $106250 (image above, right, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 30, Robert Frank, Motorama, Los Angeles, 1956/1960s, estimated at $25000-35000, sold at $185000 (image above, middle, via Sotheby’s).
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
