Sandro Botticelli’s Study for a Seated St Joseph, his Head Resting on his Right Hand (est. 1–1.5 million) sold for £1,314,500 ($2,252,922), making it the most expensive drawing by the artist to sell at auction.
Photo: Sotheby’s
Giovanni Da Rimini, Left Wing of a Diptych with Episodes from the Lives of the Virgin and Other Saints (est. 2–3 million) sold for £5,682,500 ($9,739,237).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Jan Brueghel the Elder, The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1613) (est. 2–3 million) sold for £6,802,500 ($11,658,805).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Raffaellino del Garbo, The Madonna And Child With The Infant Saint John The Baptist, Beyond Them A Landscape With Saints Jerome And Francis (est. £300,000–500,000) sold for £662,500 ($1,135,459).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, The Sacrifice of Isaac (est. £3–5 million) sold for £3,666,500 ($6,284,015).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Benedetto Gennari, Diana and Endymion (est. £200,000–300,000) sold for £506,500 ($868,091).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Jan Sanders van Hemessen, Portrait Of A Bearded Gentleman, Aged 34, Before An Extensive Landscape (est. £800,000–1,200,000) sold for £1,762,500 ($3,020,749).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Jacob Huysmans, Portrait Of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl Of Rochester (est. 400,000–600,000) sold for £602,500 ($1,032,625).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Willem Kalf, A Still Life With Silver, Pewter And Gilt Objects On A Partly Draped Table (est. £200,000–300,000) sold for £482,500 ($826,957).
Photo: Sotheby’s
George Romney, Portrait Of Edward Wortley Montagu (1713–1776) (est. 2–3 million) sold for £4,002,500 ($6,859,885).
Photo: Sotheby’s
The Master of the Female Half-Lengths, Mary Magdalene Holding The Unguent Jar (est. £200,000–300,000) sold for £866,500 ($1,485,095).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Willem van Nieulandt the Younger, The adoration of the Magi (est. 150,000–250,000) sold for £362,500 ($621,289).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Hieronymus Francken II, A Collector’s Cabinet (est. £150,000–250,000) sold for £422,500 ($724,123).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Dominic Serres, Two View of the Siege of Havana (1762) (est. £80,000–120,000) sold for £194,500 ($333,354).
Photo: Sotheby’s
Michele Marieschi, Venice, The Bacino Di San Marco Looking Towards The Palazzo Ducale And The Piazzetta (est. 400,000–600,000) sold for £2,210,500 ($3,788,576).
Photo: Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s London logged in their all time highest-earning Old Masters sale on Wednesday night with a final tally topping £68.3 million ($117.1 million). Fifty-one of the 63 lots sold for a by-volume sell-through rate of 81 percent. Ninety-five percent of lots sold for within or above their presale estimated prices.

The results were led by George Stubbs’ Tygers at Play (c. 1770-1775). The painting fell at a final price of £7,698,500 ($13,194,459) (all prices include buyer’s premium) on a £4–6 million presale estimate.

Following the sale, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, Henry Wyndam noted, “The key to unleashing the full potential of today’s market is to present such works with the right estimates in thoughtfully curated sales.”

The auction will perhaps best be remembered for the sheer number of artist records broken, however. Fifteen new all time highs were set for individual artists including Sandro Botticelli, Jan Brueghel, George Romney, Benedetto Gennari, and Raffaellino del Garbo, as well as two new records for artist collaborations and schools of Old Masters.

The Botticelli, which brought over £1.3 million, making it the most expensive work on paper by the Italian master ever to sell at auction, was particularly notable.  Study for a Seated St Joseph, his Head Resting on his Right Hand is the only drawing by the artist to have been seen on the open market since the 19th century and made over 25 times it’s previous result, $88,000, which was achieved at Sotheby’s New York in 1988.

See all the records in the slideshow above.


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