It was a busy night on Monday at Sotheby’s in New York, with consecutive sales of contemporary art kick offing the spring season, starting with an offering of ultra-contemporary material as part of the house’s “The Now” series. Buyers chased a small number of the 17 works that were brought to the block, pushing up prices, while others finished near their low estimates. Read on for a breakdown of the sale.
Kerry James Marshall, Vignette #6 (2005). Courtesy Sotheby’s.
Total Sales After Fees: $32.7 million
Total Sales of Equivalent Sale Last Year: $37.2 million
Hammer Total: $26.9 million
Top Seller: Kerry James Marshall, Vignette #6 (2005), for $7.8 million.
Lots on Offer: 18
Lots Withdrawn: 1
Lots Sold: 16
Lots Bought In: 1
Sell-through Rate: 89 percent
Sell-through Rate After Withdrawals: 94 percent
Presale Low Estimate: $30.2 million
Presale Low Estimate After Withdrawals: $24 million
Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate: -$3.3 million
Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate (revised after withdrawals): +2.9 million
Lots Guaranteed: 6 (including the lot that was withdrawn)
Lots With House Guarantees: 1 (withdrawn)
Lots With Third-Party Guarantees: 5
Total Low Estimate of Withdrawn Lots: $6 million
Total Low Estimate of Guaranteed Lots: $17 million (56 percent of original total presale low estimate)
Total Low Estimate of Third-Party Guaranteed Lots: $11 million (46 percent of revised total presale low estimate)
Quote of the Night: “Everyone gets a turn,” auctioneer Phyllis Kao said as she kept up eight eager bidders chasing Lucy Bull’s painting 16:10 (2020) to a new record of $1.8 million. There were also eight bidders lined up for Justin Caguiat’s The saint is never busy (2019), which tripled its estimate to sell for over $1 million, also an artist record.
Lasting Memory: Some audience members were taken aback at the last-minute withdrawal of a major Cecily Brown painting that the house had directly guaranteed. And the failure of a work by current Venice Biennale star Jeffrey Gibson to reach its low $150,000 estimate was a surprising buy-in.
Next Up: Tuesday night brings a sale of modern and contemporary art at Phillips. Meanwhile, Christie’s will host an auction of works from the Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz collection, followed by its 21st-century sale.