Paul Howard Manship Leads Bonhams $6.59m 'American Art' Auction in New York

A work by Paul Howard Manship was the headline sale at Bonhams 'American Art' auction on April 30 in New York.

• The sale totaled $6.59m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 60 works sold totaling $6.59m.
• Estimates totaled: $6.77m (low) and $10.04m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 67% of the original 89 lots announced.

The star lot was: Paul Howard Manship, Diana (1921), which sold for $914,900, 82% above its $500,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 412% above its low estimate. Charles Courtney Curran, Gray Rocks (1928), sold for $20,500 ($4,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 29 works, or 48%, sold above their high estimate.
• 29 works, or 48%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 2 works, or 3%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

29 works were bought-in, including: Winold Reiss, Falling Over the Bank (1928), estimated at $600,000 (low) to $800,000 (high). It has been traded 6 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.