The sailing was generally smooth at Christie’s recent various owner Photographs sale in London. With a respectable Buy-In rate of just over 23% and two handfuls of positive surprises (including multiple lots by Nobuyoshi Araki), even with some softness in the top lots, the Total Sale Proceeds still settled into the middle of aggregate pre-sale range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 97 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | £1247000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | £1786000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 74 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 23 |
| Buy In % | 23.71% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | £1541125 |
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 25 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | 21 |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | 4 |
| Low Buy In % | 16.00% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | £87000 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | £103500 |
| Mid Total Lots | 58 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 44 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 14 |
| Mid Buy In % | 24.14% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | £739000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | £671875 |
| Total High Lots | 14 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 9 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 35.71% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | £960000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | £765750 |
The top lot by High estimate was lot 41, Helmut Newton, Private Property Suites I, II & III, 1984, estimated at £200000-300000 (image in preview post). It was also the top outcome of the sale at £221000.
91.89% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were 10 positive surprises in the sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (image above via Christie’s):
Lot 1, Nobuyoshi Araki, Untitled, from Summer Diary (Natsu Nikki), 2003, estimated at £1500-2500, sold at £8125
Lot 2, Nobuyoshi Araki, Untitled, from Colourscapes, 1991, estimated at £15000-20000, sold at £40000
Lot 3, Nobuyoshi Araki, Untitled, from Sensual Flowers, 1996, estimated at £1500-2500, sold at £14375
Lot 21, Guy Bourdin, French Vogue, March 1972, estimated at £12000-18000, sold at £50000
Lot 49, Peter Lindbergh, Christy Turlington, Los Angeles, American Vogue, 1988, estimated at £4000-60000, sold at £185000
Lot 63, David Hockney, La Chaise, 1973, estimated at £1500-2000, sold at £4750
Lot 64, David Hockney, Two Lemons and Four Limes, 1976, estimated at £1500-2000, sold at £4750
Lot 76, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sea of Buddha (0010, 0011, 0012), 1995, estimated at £12000-18000, sold at £62500
Lot 86, Taryn Simon, White Tiger, (Kenny), Selective Inbreeding Turpentine Creek, Wildlife Refuge and Foundation, Erika Springs, Kansas, 2006/2007, estimated at £4000-6000, sold at £15000
Lot 95, Stuart Franklin, Tianamen Square, 4th June 1989, 1989/later, estimated at £1500-2500, sold at £9375
The complete lot by lot results can be found here.
