The results from the recent various owner photography sale at Christie’s in Paris were generally uneventful. Even with the top lot Richard Avedon print (a portrait of Francis Bacon) finding a buyer and a handful of positive surprises, the overall Buy-In rate was just too high (over 45%), and so the Total Sale Proceeds fell 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 | 104 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €1341500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €1861500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 57 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 47 |
| Buy In % | 45.19% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €1172500 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 28 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 12 |
| Low Buy In % | 42.86% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €162500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €111875 |
| Mid Total Lots | 70 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 38 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 32 |
| Mid Buy In % | 45.71% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €1309000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €835625 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €390000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €225000 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 61, Richard Avedon, Francis Bacon, Paris, 1979, estimated at €70000-90000. It was also the top outcome of the sale at €87500 (Image above, via Christie’s).
91.23% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via Christie’s):
Lot 15, Shirin Neshat, Untitled, 1996, estimated at €20000-30000, sold at €60000
Lot 30, Nobuyoshi Araki, Untitled (Kinbaku), 2008, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €17500
Lot 53, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Seville, Spain, 1933, estimated at €20000-30000, sold at €65000
Lot 64, Helmut Newton, Shoe, Monte Carlo, 1983, estimated at €10000-15000, sold at €32500
Lot 80, Helmut Newton, Sumo, 1999, estimated at €3000-5000, sold at €10000
Lot 97, Steven Klein, Neck I, II, III, IV, 1995, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €16250
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
