The photography included in Christie’s recent First Open online sale didn’t deliver much in the way of excitement, but the end of the year mop auctions hardly ever do. The top lot Richard Prince Instagram portrait sold within its estimate, and with a respectable Buy-In rate for photography of 25%, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of roughly $250K) came in just 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 | 20 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $273000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $417000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 15 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Buy In % | 25.00% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $252756 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 7 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 4 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Low Buy In % | 42.86% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $33000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $25326 |
| Mid Total Lots | 12 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 2 |
| Mid Buy In % | 16.67% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $324000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $179550 |
| Total High Lots | 1 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 0 |
| High Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $60000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $47880 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 127, Richard Prince, Untitled, 2014, estimated at $40000-60000; it was also the top photography outcome of the sale at $47880 (image above, via Christie’s.)
66.67% 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) (image above, via Christie’s):
Lot 230, Marcel Broodthaers, Une seconde, 1974, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $17640
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
