Bonhams Blazing a Trail: Modern British Women Auction Totals $732,600
3 min read · 01 Oct 2026
The Yellow Lady by Dame Laura Knight sold for $118,200. Image courtesy of Bonhams
A work by Dame Laura Knight was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Blazing a Trail: Modern British Women' auction on September 21-30 in London.
- The sale totaled $732,600 (GBP553,400), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 76 works sold totaling $732,600.
- Estimates totaled: $480,600 (low) and $715,400 (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 80% of the original 95 lots announced.
The star lot was: Dame Laura Knight, The Yellow Lady (1891), which sold for $118,200, 792% above its $13,200 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.
Flower Piece by Evelyn Ince sold for $9,320 (1060% above estimate). Image courtesy of Bonhams
The outperformer sold for 1060% above its low estimate. Evelyn Ince, Flower Piece (Undated), sold for $9,320 ($803 low estimate). It has not been traded before.
- 47 works, or 62%, sold above their high estimate.
- 28 works, or 37%, 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
17 works were bought-in, including: Elisabeth Frink, Small Lying Down Horse (1986), estimated at $40,100 (low) to $66,900 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Dod Procter, Miss Penny Lamb (Undated), estimated at $5,353 (low) to $8,030 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.
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