Picasso's Woman With a Hat Leads Artcurial $761,300 Limited Edition Auction

A work by Pablo Picasso was the headline sale at Artcurial 'Limited Edition' auction on December 3 in Paris.

• The sale totaled $761,300 (EUR655,800), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 115 works sold totaling $761,300.
• Estimates totaled: $914,400 (low) and $1.28m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 76% of the original 151 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Large Head of a Woman with an Ornate Hat (1964), which sold for $76,900, 65% above its $46,400 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 474% above its low estimate. Sol Lewitt, Yellow Circles, Red Grids, Black Arcs from Four Sides, Blue Arcs from Three Corners (1972), sold for $1,998 ($348 low estimate).

• 74 works, or 64%, sold above their high estimate.
• 40 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 1%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

35 works were bought-in, including: Roy Lichtenstein, Form in Space (1985), estimated at $58,000 (low) to $81,200 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Banksy, Love Is In The Air (2003) estimated at $173,900 (low) to $231,900 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.