With no lots in the evening sale, the photography included in Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Art auctions in London seemed like an afterthought. The top Hiroshi Sugimoto seascape found a buyer, but with an overall Buy-In rate for photography near 60%, even with a few random surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography came in well below 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 | 17 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £549000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £806000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 10 |
| Buy In % | 58.82% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £253750 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £6000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £8750 |
| Mid Total Lots | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Mid Buy In % | 57.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £85000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £51250 |
| Total High Lots | 8 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 2 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 6 |
| High Buy In % | 75.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £715000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £193750 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 236, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Bay of Sagami, 1998, estimated at £120000-180000. It was also the top photography outcome of the sales at £150000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 3 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 212, Harold Ancart, Untitled, 2013, estimated at £8000-12000, sold at £25000
Lot 214, Nobuyoshi Araki, Untitled (Kinbaku), 2008, estimated at £2000-3000, sold at £6250
Lot 288, Ed Ruscha, Vacant Lots, 1970-2003, estimated at £5000-7000, sold at £16250
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
