The photographs in the recent Classic Photographs sale at Sotheby’s in New York largely performed to expectations. As a group, the lots in the top price tier sold well, and a Francesca Woodman print soared to $200K. With a Buy-In rate of a third, the Total Sale Proceeds came in at a respectable $2.4M, above the low end of aggregate pre-sale estimate range. To compare totals with the other auction houses, this tally should be added to the $1.9M of results from Sotheby’s Contemporary Photographs sale (results here) which took place earlier in the season.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 138 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $2052000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $3059000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 92 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 46 |
| Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $2382250 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 61 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 38 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 23 |
| Low Buy In % | 37.70% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $484000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $257250 |
| Mid Total Lots | 66 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 44 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 22 |
| Mid Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $1535000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $1121250 |
| Total High Lots | 11 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 9.09% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1040000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1003750 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between five lots, each estimated at $80000-120000, and while all five found buyers but none was the top outcome: lot 108, Diane Arbus, Widow in her Bedroom, 55th Street, NYC, 1962, sold at $81250; lot 112, Richard Avedon, Marian Anderson, Contralto, New York, 1955, sold at $87500; lot 149, Walker Evans, Floyd Burroughs, A Cotton Sharecropper, Hale County, Alabama, 1936, sold at $150000; lot 197, Man Ray, Rayograph, 1931, sold at $75000; and lot 208, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tulips, 1988, sold at $93750. The top outcome of the sale was lot 121, Francesca Woodman, Polka Dots, 1976, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $200000 (image above via Sotheby’s.)
83.70% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 6 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 107, Diane Arbus, Jim Warren’s Famous Monsters Fan Club, Queens, New York Chapter, 1962, estimated at $15000-25000, sold at $50000
Lot 117, Lewis Baltz, Santa Cruz, 1970, estimated at $20000-30000, sold at $68750
Lot 121, Francesca Woodman, Polka Dots, 1976, estimated at $50000-70000, sold at $200000
Lot 122, Francesca Woodman, Untitled (Self-Portrait, Shells), 1979-1980, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $11875
Lot 156, W. Eugene Smith, The Walk to Paradise Garden, 1946/later, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $20000
Lot 194, Harold Edgerton, Harold Edgerton: Ten Dye Transfer Photographs, 1938-1973/1985, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $60000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
