Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Auction Results: Photographs, May 7, 2013 @Bonhams New York

The results of Bonhams' Photographs sale yesterday in New York were generally lackluster. The overall Buy-In rate was more than 35% and the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the estimate range by more than a whisker.

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

Total Lots: 135
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $843000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $1204500
Total Lots Sold: 86
Total Lots Bought In: 49
Buy In %: 36.30%
Total Sale Proceeds: $674750

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

Low Total Lots: 113
Low Sold: 74
Low Bought In: 39
Buy In %: 34.51%
Total Low Estimate: $633500
Total Low Sold: $393000

Mid Total Lots: 20
Mid Sold: 11
Mid Bought In: 9
Buy In %: 45.00%
Total Mid Estimate: $396000
Total Mid Sold: $201250

High Total Lots: 2
High Sold: 1
High Bought In: 1
Buy In %: 50.00%
Total High Estimate: $175000
Total High Sold: $80500

The top lot by High estimate was lot 27, Edward Weston, Fiftieth Anniversary Portfolio, 1902-1952, c1952, estimated at $60000-90000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $80500.

70.93% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 4 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Lot 38, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, La buena fama, durmiendo, 1938-1939/1970s, estimated at $5000-7000, sold at $21250 (image at right, bottom, via Bonhams)
Lot 81, Nicholas Nixon, Yazoo City, 1979, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6000 (image at right, middle, via Bonhams)
Lot 93, Sebastião Salgado, Man Lying in Oil, Kuwait, 1991, estimated at $3000-5000, sold at $15000 (image at right, top, via Bonhams)
Lot 94, Sebastião Salgado, Greater Buhrman Oil Field, Kuwait, 1991, estimated at $2000-3000, sold at $6875

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Bonhams
580 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022

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