Sotheby’s had the most photography on offer of the three major auction houses this past week, and its results were the strongest by a decently wide margin. The photographs in the Contemporary Curated sale were led by a 1980 multi-image work by Richard Prince and a Wolfgang Tillmans abstraction from 2003, but both were ultimately topped by a late 1980s work by Barbara Kruger. With nearly all of the photo lots finding buyers (there was just one passed photo lot), the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $1.1M) came in above the top end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 13 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $775000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1090000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 12 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Buy In % | 7.69% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1179990 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $190000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $222390 |
| Total High Lots | 6 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 5 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $900000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $957600 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 79, Richard Prince, Untitled (Four Women with Their Backs to the Camera), 1980, estimated at $180000-250000; it sold at $226800. The top photography outcome in the sale was lot 1, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Speak for Yourself), 1988, estimated at $80000-120000, sold at $315000 (image above, via Sotheby’s.)
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 1, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Speak for Yourself), 1988, estimated at $80000-120000, sold at $315000
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
