Bonhams 19th Century and British Impressionist Art Auction Totals $3.81m

A work by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky was the headline sale at Bonhams '19th Century and British Impressionist Art' auction on September 23 in London.

• The sale totaled $3.81m (GBP2.85m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 59 works sold totaling $3.81m.
• Estimates totaled: $2.56m (low) and $3.8m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 75% of the original 79 lots announced.

The star lot was: Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, An oxwagon traversing a ford on a moonlit evening (1871), which sold for $850,300, 421% above its $163,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1616% above its low estimate. Attributed to Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, A forest stream (Undated), sold for $139,900 ($8,149 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 33 works, or 56%, sold above their high estimate.
• 23 works, or 39%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 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

19 works were bought-in, including: James Jacques Joseph Tissot, Départ du fiancé (Departure of the Betrothed) (1861), estimated at $203,700 (low) to $339,500 (high). It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: John Singer Sargent, The Hon. Pamela Boscawen (1911), estimated at $81,500 (low) to $108,700 (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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.