The photography included in the 21st Century Evening and Post-War & Contemporary Art Day sales at Christie’s in New York last week muddled along without much in the way of notable news. Two significant photo lots were withdrawn prior to the sale (works by Barbara Kruger and Richard Prince), and while one of the two top lot Cindy Sherman prints did sell, the rest of the sale plugged along without incident. When the dust settled, with no positive surprises to help the numbers a bit, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography came in above $1.7M, 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 | 13 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1767000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $2618000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Buy In % | 23.08% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $1722420 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 0 |
| Low Buy In % | 0.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $3000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $3780 |
| 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 | $35000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $40320 |
| Total High Lots | 11 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 8 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 27.27% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $2580000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $1678320 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was tied between two lots, both estimated at $400000-600000: lot 24A, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1978, and lot 345, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981; the Sherman lot in the evening sale found a buyer at $693000 and was the top photography outcome in the sale (image above, via Christie’s), while the Sherman lot in the day sale did not sell.
80.00% 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 (21st Century Evening) and here (Post-War & Contemporary Art Day).
