While the tally of just under €700K was a better result for WestLicht’s photography auction in Vienna than its German counterparts (Grisebach and Lempertz) were able to muster the week before, not all the statistical news was quite so promising. The overall Buy-In rate hovered above 34%, there were only 3 positive surprises, and more than 53% of the lots that sold did so below their estimate ranges. As such, the Total Sale Proceeds fell meaningfully below the aggregate pre-sale estimate.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 218 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | €825300 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | €1003100 |
| Total Lots Sold | 143 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 75 |
| Buy In % | 34.40% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | €696660 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 195 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 123 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 72 |
| Low Buy In % | 36.92% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | €632100 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | €395460 |
| Mid Total Lots | 23 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 20 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 3 |
| Mid Buy In % | 13.04% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | €371000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | €301200 |
| Total High Lots | 0 |
| Total High Lots Sold | NA |
| Total High Lots Bought In | NA |
| High Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | €0 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | €0 |
The top lot by High estimate was tied between two lots: lot 37, Horst P. Horst, Mainbocher Corset, Paris, 1939/1960s, and lot 93, Henri Cartier-Bresson, A group of 12 images from ‘The Great Leap Forward’, China, 1958, both estimated at €30000-35000 (images in preview post). The Horst sold at €38400, while the Cartier-Bresson sold at €36000. The top outcome of the sale was tied (at €38400) between the Horst and lot 71, Irving Penn, Marcel Duchamp (with pipe in mouth), 1948/1984, which was estimated at €20000-28000 (image above, via WestLicht).
Only 46.85% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above, via WestLicht):
Lot 27, Nathaniel Mayer Anselm Rothschild, ‘Schiffsbilder’, Jasper Druckerei, Vienna, 1902, estimated at €5000-6000, sold at €15600
Lot 102, Marc Riboud, Anti Vietnam Demo, Washington D.C., 1967/1990s, estimated at €4500-5500, sold at €24000
Lot 158, Flip Schulke, Muhammad Ali boxing underwater, Miami, 1961/1990s, estimated at €5000-6000, sold at €26400
Complete lot by lot results can be found here.
