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Andy Warhol Leads Sotheby's, Online $4.22m 'Prints & Multiples featuring Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q.' Auction

3 min read  ·  27 Sep 2024

Flowers by Andy Warhol sold for $1.6m.
Image courtesy of Sotheby's, Online

Flowers by Andy Warhol sold for $1.6m. Image courtesy of Sotheby's, Online

A work by Andy Warhol was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Prints & Multiples featuring Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q.' auction on September 25.

  • The sale totaled $4.22m (GBP3.16m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

  • 81 works sold totaling $4.22m.
  • Estimates totaled: $3.57m (low) and $5.35m (high), excluding premiums.
  • The sell-through rate was 84% of the original 96 lots announced.

The star lot was: Andy Warhol, Flowers (1970), which sold for $1.6m, 21% above its $1.32m low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1601% above its low estimate. After Andy Warhol, Liz (1965), sold for $22,500 ($1,321 low estimate).

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 29 works, or 36%, sold above their high estimate.
  • 37 works, or 46%, sold within their low and high estimate.
  • 15 works, or 19%, sold below their low estimate.
  • 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

15 works were bought-in, including: Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger (1975), estimated at $39,600 (low) to $66,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

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. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.