It was a relatively bleak pair of outings for the photography included in the recent Contemporary Discoveries and Modern Discoveries online sales at Sotheby’s last week. The top lot Jeff Wall print didn’t sell, nor did the next highest value photo lot (a Matthew Barney print), eventually dropping to lots in the $10K range for the top lot honors. While the overall Buy-In rate for photography was respectably under 20%, there were no positive surprises and an overly heavy dose of lots selling under their estimate ranges. In the end, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography were less than $85K, les than half 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 | 23 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $174500 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $260500 |
| Total Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Buy In % | 17.29% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $84709 |
Here is the breakdown (using our usual Low, Mid, and High price tier definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 17 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 16 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 5.88% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $113500 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $52324 |
| Mid Total Lots | 5 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 3 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 40.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $87000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $32385 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 1 |
| High Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $0 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 154, Jeff Wall, River Road, 1994, estimated at $40000-60000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome in the sales was tied between two lots: lot 157, Anne Collier, Woman With a Camera (Candice Bergen/Minolta #2), 2008, and lot 308, Massimo Vitali, Viareggio Tuffo, 1995, both estimated at $10000-15000, and both sold at $12700 (images above, via Sotheby’s.)
A paltry 36.84% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Contemporary) and here (Modern).
