Weakness in the highest priced lots dampened the photography results from the recent Post-War to Present sale at Christie’s. The top lot Andres Gursky print failed to sell, as did pricey lots by John Baldessari and Hiroshi Sugimoto, pushing a group Richard Prince appropriated portraits from the 1980s to the forefront. With no positive surprises to boost the numbers, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography (of just over $830K) 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 | 18 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $1321000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $1933000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 13 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 5 |
| Buy In % | 27.78% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $834120 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 1 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Low Buy In % | 100.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $8000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 8 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 7 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 12.50% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $305000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $321300 |
| Total High Lots | 9 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 6 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 3 |
| High Buy In % | 33.33% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $1620000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $512820 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 374, Andreas Gursky, Dubai World III, 2008, estimated at $300000-500000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome in the sale was lot 343, Richard Prince, Untitled (Four women with hats), 1980, estimated at $150000-200000, sold at $163800 (image above, via Christie’s.)
Just 69.23% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were no positive 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.
