Auction Results: Contemporary Art, March 9, 2011 @Sotheby's

The results for the photography in Sotheby's lower end Contemporary Art auction last week were altogether lackluster. With a Buy-In rate over 40% and just one positive surprise, it is no wonder the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the range by a significant margin.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 39

Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $497000

Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $712000

Total Lots Sold: 22

Total Lots Bought In: 17

Buy In %: 43.59%

Total Sale Proceeds: $371501

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Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 13

Low Sold: 8

Low Bought In: 5

Buy In %: 38.46%

Total Low Estimate: $93000

Total Low Sold: $70001

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Mid Total Lots: 25

Mid Sold: 13

Mid Bought In: 12

Buy In %: 48.00%

Total Mid Estimate: $559000

Total Mid Sold: $215000

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High Total Lots: 1

High Sold: 1

High Bought In: 0

Buy In %: 0.00%

Total High Estimate: $60000

Total High Sold: $86500

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The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 19, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #109, 1982, at $40000-60000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $86500. (Image at right, top, via Sotheby's.)
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95.45% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There was only 1 surprise in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 169, Shirin Neshat, I am its Secret, 1993, at $22500 (image at right, via Sotheby's)

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Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

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