The photographs included in the Contemporary Curated sale at Sotheby’s in New York last week didn’t deliver much in the way of excitement. After one Cindy Sherman print was withdrawn, another Sherman print (the top photography lot in the sale) found a buyer underneath its pre-sale estimate range. The rest of the photo results were forgettable, with a Buy-In rate over 50% and no positive surprises. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $75K) 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 | 7 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $171000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $235000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 57.14% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $76200 |
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 | $15000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $12700 |
| Mid Total Lots | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $70000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $0 |
| Total High Lots | 2 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 50.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $150000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $63500 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 102, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #568, 2016, estimated at $70000-90000; it was also the top photography outcome in the sale at $63500 (image above, via Sotheby’s.)
Just 33.33 % of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive photographic surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
