I’ve been at this effort of thinking and writing about photography for long enough now that the name Virginia Zabriskie isn’t just an anonymous name on an auction catalog. I met and visited with Zabriskie several times in the late 2000s, when she was nearing the end of her career as a gallerist but still putting on smart shows, including photography, at her small space in the Fuller building. We talked about the photographs of Ralston Crawford (which I saw for the first time at her gallery), Lisette Model, Tomoko Sawada, and others she was showing, and we crossed paths at the ADAA art fair now and again in those years. She passed away in 2019.
This sale gathered up a variety of works from her inventory and personal collection, with a decent dose of photography. The results were dominated by a Man Ray photographic object, which more than doubled its high estimate. Overall, the Buy-In rate for photography was a respectable 22% and with more than a handful of positive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography came in above the high end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 67 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $221500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $323650 |
| Total Lots Sold | 52 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 15 |
| Buy In % | 22.39% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $365784 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High price range definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 63 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 48 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 15 |
| Low Buy In % | 23.81% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $211650 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $160409 |
| Mid Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $52000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $44375 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $161000 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 122, Man Ray, Perpetual Motif, 1922-33/1970-71, estimated at $40000-60000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at $161000 (image above, via Swann).
71.15% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 8 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Swann):
Lot 84, Ilse Bing, Tours, France, 1935, estimated at $2500-3500, sold at $10000
Lot 88, Brassaï, Matisse, Sketching, 1944, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $4500
Lot 93, François Kollar, Lilas Blanc, 1932, estimated at $1500-2500, sold at $5250
Lot 118, Man Ray, La Photographie n’est pas l’Art, 1937, estimated at $1000-1500, sold at $5750
Lot 122, Man Ray, Perpetual Motif, 1922-33/1970-71, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $161000
Lot 135, Alexander Liberman, Marcel Duchamp’s Hands, New York City, 1959-60/1960s, estimated at $700-1000, sold at $2250
Lot 161, Paul Strand, Lupin, the Garden, Orgeval, 1959, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $25000
Lot 280, Harry Callahan, Morocco, 1981, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
