Pablo Picasso Leads Artcurial $1.43m 'Limited Edition' Auction in Paris

A work by Pablo Picasso was the headline sale at Artcurial 'Limited Edition' auction on May 27 in Paris.

• The sale totaled $1.43m (EUR1.26m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 166 works sold totaling $1.43m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.07m (low) and $1.51m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 84% of the original 197 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Le Repas Frugal (1913), which sold for $163,700, 81% above its $90,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 588% above its low estimate. Henri Matisse, Nice, Work and Joy (1947), sold for $7,737 ($1,124 low estimate).

• 87 works, or 52%, sold above their high estimate.
• 79 works, or 48%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 0 works, or 0%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

30 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, *Grande tête de femme au chapeau orné * (1964), estimated at $56,200 (low) to $78,700 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Pablo Picasso, *Lampe Femme * (1955) estimated at $11,200 (low) to $16,900 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.