Willem de Kooning Leads Bonhams $5.43m '20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale' in New York

A work by Willem de Kooning was the headline sale at Bonhams '20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale' on May 14 in New York.

• The sale totaled $5.43m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 16 works sold totaling $5.43m.
• Estimates totaled: $7.28m (low) and $11.22m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 62% of the original 26 lots announced.

The star lot was: Willem de Kooning, East Hampton VII (1968), which sold for $1.08m, 170% above its $400,000 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 377% above its low estimate. Gertrude Abercrombie, Blue Shell (1956), sold for $191,000 ($40,000 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 4 works, or 25%, sold above their high estimate.
• 10 works, or 62%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 2 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

8 works were bought-in, including: Wayne Thiebaud, Pie a la Mode (1961), estimated at $1.2m (low) to $1.8m (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Alexander Calder, The Cross (1948) estimated at $750,000 (low) to $1.25m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.