Andy Warhol Leads Christie's $413.3m '20th Century Evening Sale' in New York

A work by Andy Warhol, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Christie's '20th Century Evening Sale' on May 16 in New York.

• The sale totaled $413.3m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 58 works sold totaling $413.3m.
• Estimates totaled: $345.9m (low) and $501.7m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 92% of the original 64 lots announced.

The star lot was: Andy Warhol, Flowers (1964), which sold for $35.48m, 77% above its $20m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 350% above its low estimate. Rene Magritte, Les grâces naturelles (1967), sold for $3.68m ($800,000 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded once in the past.

The talking point was: Claude Monet, Moulin de Limetz (1888), which sold for $21.68m, 20% above estimate. The work, which was a partial bequest to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, has been traded 4 times in the past.

• 17 works, or 29%, sold above their high estimate.
• 31 works, or 53%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 10 works, or 17%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

25 works were backed by guarantees, including: Vincent van Gogh, Coin de jardin avec papillons (1887). It sold for $33.19m, 18% above its $28m low estimate.. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

3 works were bought-in, including: Joan Mitchell, Crow Hill (1966), estimated at $7m (low) to $10m (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale (1961) estimated at $2m (low) to $3m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.