Auction Results: Photographs, May 19, 2011 @Bonhams London

The recent results of the Photographs sale at Bonhams in London were quite soft, with a Buy-In rate over 50%, few positive surprises, and Total Sale Proceeds that missed the estimate range by a wide margin.

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

Total Lots: 102
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: £240200
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: £340900
Total Lots Sold: 50
Total Lots Bought In: 52
Buy In %: 50.98%
Total Sale Proceeds: £166080

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

Low Total Lots: 81
Low Sold: 42
Low Bought In: 39
Buy In %: 48.15%
Total Low Estimate: £155900
Total Low Sold: £100680

Mid Total Lots: 21
Mid Sold: 8
Mid Bought In: 13
Buy In %: 61.90%
Total Mid Estimate: £185000
Total Mid Sold: £65400

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: £0
Total High Sold: NA

The top lot by High estimate is lot 56, Irving Penn, Five Dahomey Girls, Two Standing, 1967/1985, at £15000-20000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 47, Hans Haas, Hans Haas at work photographing the world under the ocean, n.d., at £14400. (Image at right, top, via Bonhams.)

92.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above their estimate. There were a total of 3 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 5, David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson, Four portraits, 1840s, at £4560 (image at right, bottom, via Bonhams)
Lot 47, Hans Haas, Hans Haas at work photographing the world under the ocean, n.d., at £14400 (image at right, top, via Bonhams)
Lot 77, Mario Testino, Kate Moss in Blue Cafe, 2005, at £5280

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Bonhams
101 New Bond Street
London W1S 1SR