Banksy Leads Bonhams $347,000 'Prints & Multiples' Auction

A work by Banksy was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Prints & Multiples' auction on December 3.

• The sale totaled $347,000 (GBP274,000), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 153 works sold totaling $347,000.
• Estimates totaled: $312,700 (low) and $457,600 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 73% of the original 211 lots announced.

The star lot was: Banksy, Tesco Value Soup Can (2005), which sold for $19,500, 29% above its $15,100 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 379% above its low estimate. Tracey Emin, Sometimes I feel lonely, but it's OK (2002), sold for $4,214 ($878 low estimate).

• 67 works, or 44%, sold above their high estimate.
• 73 works, or 48%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 13 works, or 8%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

57 works were bought-in, including: Bambi, Eight Plates, from Art Lovers (2021), estimated at $5,018 (low) to $7,527 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Damien Hirst, Rhodotorulic Acid, from 40 Woodcut Spots (2011) estimated at $1,254 (low) to $1,882 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.