The results from this single owner sale at Sotheby’s last week are proof that if the overall Buy-In rate can be kept low, even if prices aren’t particularly frothy, the Total Sale Proceeds will likely come in in an acceptable range. Roughly 35% of the lots that sold in this auction found buyers below their pre-sale estimates, but with a Buy-In rate of just under 17%, the aggregate proceeds fell right in the middle of the range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 59 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1943000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2950000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 49 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Buy In % | 16.95% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2544376 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 21 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Low Buy In % | 23.81% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $181000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $156875 |
| Mid Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 16.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $598000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $487126 |
| Total High Lots | 13 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 7.69% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2180000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1909375 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 18, Edward Weston, Two Shells, 1927, estimated at $600000-900000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $533000.
Only 65.31% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 4 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 16, Edward Steichen, Anna May Wong, 1930, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $25000
Lot 17, Edward Steichen, Douglass Lighters (for J. Walter Thompson), 1926, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $203000 (image at right, top, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 28, Walker Evans, Defensa Carniceria, Havana, 1933, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $20000 (image at right, bottom, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 55, Irving Penn, Nude Torso, Soaping, New York, 1978/1992, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $59375 (image at right, middle, via Sotheby’s)
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
