Alfred Stieglitz Leads Christie's $3.7m 'Photographs' Online Auction

A work by Alfred Stieglitz was the headline sale at Christie's Online 'Photographs' auction on April 17.

• The sale totaled $3.75m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 169 works sold totaling $3.75m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.53m (low) and $5.15m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 76% of the original 222 lots announced.

The star lot was: Alfred Stieglitz, The Hand of Man, 1902 (1910), which sold for $176,400, 152% above its $70,000 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 719% above its low estimate. Robert Capa, *Pablo Picasso & Francoise Gilot, Golfe-Juan, France, August * (1948), sold for $32,800 ($4,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 69 works, or 41%, sold above their high estimate.
• 63 works, or 37%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 37 works, or 22%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

53 works were bought-in, including: Richard Avedon, *Patricia Wilde, Housekeeper, Klispell, Montana, June 12 * (1981), estimated at $70,000 (low) to $90,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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