Bonhams Modern & Contemporary Art Online Auction Totals $1.36m
3 min read · 30 Jul 2026
Flight of Icarus by Malcolm Morley sold for $76,700. Image courtesy of Bonhams
A work by Malcolm Morley was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Modern & Contemporary Art Online' auction on July 20-29 in New York.
- The sale totaled $1.36m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 121 works sold totaling $1.36m.
- Estimates totaled: $1.26m (low) and $1.85m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 72% of the original 167 lots announced.
The star lot was: Malcolm Morley, Flight of Icarus (1995), which sold for $76,700, 27% above its $60,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.
Quai de le Seine by Andre Barbier sold for $10,900 (988% above estimate). Image courtesy of Bonhams
The outperformer sold for 988% above its low estimate. Andre Barbier, Quai de le Seine (Undated), sold for $10,900 ($1,000 low estimate).
- 58 works, or 48%, sold above their high estimate.
- 45 works, or 37%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 18 works, or 15%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
44 works were bought-in, including: Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Herbst (Autumn) (2000), estimated at $40,000 (low) to $60,000 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Servando Cabrera-Moreno, Untitled (1974), estimated at $18,000 (low) to $22,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.
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