Barbara Hepworth Leads Christie's $6.56m 'Modern British and Irish Art Day Sale' in London

A work by Barbara Hepworth was the headline sale at Christie's 'Modern British and Irish Art Day Sale' on March 21 in London.

• The sale totaled $6.56m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 130 works sold totaling $6.56m.
• Estimates totaled: $4.49m (low) and $6.75m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 83% of the original 156 lots announced.

The star lot was: Barbara Hepworth, Three Curves with Strings [Gold Mincarlo] (1971), which sold for $612,100, 400% above its $102,300 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 800% above its low estimate. Peter Lanyon, Small Landscape No. 7 (1963), sold for $61,200 ($6,395 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 76 works, or 58%, sold above their high estimate.
• 48 works, or 37%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 5%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

24 works were bought-in, including: Lynn Chadwick, Cloaked Couple V, 1977 (1983), estimated at $127,900 (low) to $191,900 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Laurence Stephen Lowry, Bank Place, Pendlebury (1941) estimated at $76,700 (low) to $102,300 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.