Banksy Leads Bonhams $289,000 Paper Trails Auction in London

A work by Banksy was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Paper Trails X Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair' auction on November 20 in London.

• The sale totaled $289,000 (GBP220,000), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 94 works sold totaling $289,000.
• Estimates totaled: $411,100 (low) and $591,700 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 56% of the original 167 lots announced.

The star lot was: Banksy, Love Is In The Air (2003), which sold for $30,300, 27% above its $23,600 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 379% above its low estimate. Barbara Hepworth, Genesis (1969), sold for $12,600 ($2,628 low estimate).

• 36 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
• 43 works, or 46%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 15 works, or 16%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

72 works were bought-in, including: Banksy, Toxic Mary (2004), estimated at $26,300 (low) to $39,400 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: After Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled V, from The Figure Portfolio (1982) (2023) estimated at $23,600 (low) to $32,800 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.