Alfred Stieglitz Leads Phillips $3.55m 'Photographs' Auction in New York

A work by Alfred Stieglitz was the headline sale at Phillips 'Photographs' auction on October 9 in New York.

• The sale totaled $3.55m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 143 works sold totaling $3.55m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.48m (low) and $5.23m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 70% of the original 205 lots announced.

The star lot was: Alfred Stieglitz, From the Back Window--291--Snow Covered Tree, Back-Yard (1915), which sold for $304,800, 21% above its $250,000 low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 408% above its low estimate. Nan Goldin, Misty in Sheridan Square, NYC (1991), sold for $50,800 ($10,000 low estimate).

• 44 works, or 31%, sold above their high estimate.
• 81 works, or 57%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 18 works, or 13%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

62 works were bought-in, including: Peter Beard, Francis Bacon on his roof @ 80 Narrow Street, London (soon to be lost gambling), during the dead elephant interviews for End-Game, March (1972), estimated at $120,000 (low) to $180,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.