It’s been a bumpy fall auction season for photography, but Phillips finished up the run of major sales in New York with a solid, meet-the-expectations kind of outing. The top lot 19th century San Francisco panorama sold within its estimate range, there were a handful of positive surprises, and the overall Buy-In rate settled in just under 30%. When the dust settled on the more than 300 lots on offer, the Total Sale Proceeds (of roughly $4.5M) essentially met the low end of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range. No lightning strikes or major news items, but a predictable workmanlike outcome nonetheless.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 312 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $4595450 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $6856450 |
| Total Lots Sold | 221 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 91 |
| Buy In % | 29.17% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $4583125 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 139 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 104 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 35 |
| Low Buy In % | 25.18% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $907450 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $725004 |
| Mid Total Lots | 147 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 100 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 47 |
| Mid Buy In % | 31.97% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $3379000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $2255400 |
| Total High Lots | 26 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 17 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 9 |
| High Buy In % | 34.62% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2570000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1602720 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 123, George Robinson Fardon, San Francisco, Cal., 1855, estimated at $150000-250000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $189000 (image above via Phillips).
91.40% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 8 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Phillips):
Lot 91, Gordon Parks, American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942/later, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $21420
Lot 159, Lewis Baltz, Santa Cruz, 1970, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $32760
Lot 164, Mark Morrisroe, Untitled, NYC (Jonathan and Stafanelli), 1985, estimated at $7000-9000, sold at $40320
Lot 200, Cindy Sherman, Untitled (Madonna), 1975/1997, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $11970
Lot 222, Nan Goldin, Jimmy Paulette and Misty in the taxi, NYC, 1991, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $40320
Lot 227, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, New York (Afternoon Delight), 1997/c2010, estimated at $6000-8000, sold at $16380
Lot 259, Zanele Muholi, Ntobza Mkhwanazi, BB Section Umlazi township, Durban from Faces and Phases, 2012, estimated at $4000-6000, sold at $13860
Lot 277, Louise Lawler, Untitled (Salon Hodler), 1992-1993, estimated at $10000-15000, sold at $36540
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
