The various owner Photographs sale at Sotheby’s in New York last week bounced around to little consistent success. The sale began with a run of 53 daguerreotypes, of which only 20 found buyers, and things didn’t improve much from there. The overall Buy-In rate topped 45% and with only a handful of positive surprises to stem the tide, the Total Sale Proceeds fell meaningfully below the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 200 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3639000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $5542000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 109 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 91 |
| Buy In % | 45.50% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2901375 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 87 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 48 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 39 |
| Low Buy In % | 44.83% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $666000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $394675 |
| Mid Total Lots | 96 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 54 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 42 |
| Mid Buy In % | 43.75% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $2336000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $1182250 |
| Total High Lots | 17 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 10 |
| High Buy In % | 58.82% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2540000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1324750 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 189, Robert Frank, Charleston, S.C., 1955/1967-1968, estimated at $300000-500000; it was sold at $348500. The top outcome of the sale was lot 147, Philip Haas, John Quincy Adams, 1843, estimated at $150000-250000, sold at $360500 (both images in preview post).
77.98% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 5 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 21, Anonymous English Photographer, The English Daguerreotypist with a French Quarter-Plate Camera, late 1840s or early 1850s, estimated at $7000-10000, sold at $21250
Lot 104, Imogen Cunningham, Unmade Bed, 1957/later, estimated at $6000-9000, sold at $27500
Lot 112, Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, NM, 1941/1978, estimated at $25000-35000, sold at $81250
Lot 156, Berenice Abbott, Barclay Street, Hoboken Ferry, 1931, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $16250
Lot 167, Régis Bossu, Kisses from Berlin, 1979, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $18750
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
