The buzz surrounding the sale of a late Gustav Klimt painting drowned out what was an otherwise respectable outing for the photography included in Sotheby’s recent modern and contemporary art sales in London. The top photo lot Cindy Sherman film still found a buyer within its estimate range, and only one photograph failed to sell, leading to Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly £1.25M) that fell squarely in the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 9 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1115000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1560000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Buy In % | 11.11% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1250950 |
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 | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Mid Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £20000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £19050 |
| Total High Lots | 8 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 12.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £1540000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £1231900 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 137, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #48, 1979, estimated at £600000-800000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sales at £762000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
87.50% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there was just 1 positive surprise in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above, via Sotheby’s):
Lot 1, Arthur Jafa, Monster, 1988/2018, estimated at £40000-60000, sold at £139700
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Now Evening), here (Modern and Contemporary Evening) and here (Modern and Contemporary Day).
