Andy Warhol Leads Bonhams $2.23m 'Prints & Multiples' Auction in Los Angeles

A work by Andy Warhol was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Prints & Multiples' auction on October 1 in Los Angeles.

• The sale totaled $2.23m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 169 works sold totaling $2.23m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.96m (low) and $2.87m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 79% of the original 215 lots announced.

The star lot was: Andy Warhol, Grace Kelly (1984), which sold for $165,600, 65% above its $100,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 207% above its low estimate. Albrecht Durer, Christ in Limbo, from The Large Passion (1510), sold for $7,680 ($2,500 low estimate).

• 66 works, or 39%, sold above their high estimate.
• 83 works, or 49%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 20 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

45 works were bought-in, including: Robert Indiana, The Garden of Love (1982), estimated at $50,000 (low) to $70,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Jonas Wood, C.M.Z. House on M.V. with Ptolemy (2021) estimated at $6,000 (low) to $8,000 (high).

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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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