Sotheby’s held its evening sale of modern art on November 18, immediately following dedicated evening auction of Sydell Miller’s collection. The first one was a success, the second not so much.

The difference between them sent a clear message about what buyers want—and what they don’t. The result represented a 58 percent drop compared to the same event last year, a sign of a major contraction in the public high-end resale market. One unsold lot, which had been backed by the house guarantee—Matisse’s Torse de jeune fille (1921–23), estimated at $12 million to $18 million—resulted in the sale’s overall disappointing numbers.

Alberto Giacometti’s Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego), 1953, which went for $13.3 million at Sotheby’s New York. Photo courtesy Sotheby’s

Total Sales After Fees: $93.1 million

Total Sales of Equivalent Auction Last Year: $223.4 million

Hammer Total: $79.2 million

Top Seller: Alberto Giacometti’s Buste (1953, cast 1954), of the artist’s brother Diego, $13.3 million.

Lots on Offer: 31

Lots Withdrawn: 2

Lots Sold: 24

Lots Bought In: 7

Sell-through Rate: 72.7 percent

Sell-through Rate After Withdrawals: 77.4 percent

Presale Low Estimate: $102.3 million

Presale Low Estimate After Withdrawals: $92.3 million

Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate: -$23.1 million

Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate (revised after withdrawals): -$13.1 million

Lots Guaranteed:  13

Lots With House Guarantees:  13

Lots With Third-Party Guarantees:  12

Total Low Estimate of Withdrawn Lots: $10 million

Total Low Estimate of Guaranteed Lots: $35.5 million (34.7 percent of total presale low estimate)

Total Low Estimate of Third-Party Guaranteed Lots: $23.5 million (23 percent of total presale low estimate)

Quote of the Night: “There’s nothing chicer right now than these badass, witchy women,” Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s head of Impressionist and Modern art, said about female Surrealists, whose prices continue to rise.

Lasting Memory: A five-way bidding war for Leonora Carrington’s La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman), 1951. The 6.5-foot-tall sculpture sold for $11.4 million, blowing past its presale range of $5 million to $7 million. The winner was Eduardo Costantini, a leading collector of Latin American art, who bought Carrington’s record-breaking painting Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945) for $28.5 million at Sotheby’s six months ago.

Parting Shot: The sale’s successes and casualties signaled what buyers want right now —and they don’t want.

Next Sale Up: Christie’s 20th Century evening sale on November 19.