Marc Chagall Leads Bonhams $417,100 'Prints & Multiples' Auction in London

A work by Marc Chagall was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Prints & Multiples' auction on June 26 in London.

• The sale totaled $417,100, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 160 works sold totaling $417,100.
• Estimates totaled: $313,500 (low) and $472,200 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 90% of the original 177 lots announced.

The star lot was: Marc Chagall, Daphnis et Chloé au Bord de la Fontaine, from Daphnis et Chloé (1961), which sold for $14,100, 76% above its $8,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 1500% above its low estimate. Lyonel Feininger, *Gelmeroda * (1918), sold for $12,800 ($800 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 60 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
• 63 works, or 39%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 37 works, or 23%, 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: Oskar Kokoschka, Selbstbildnis von zwei Seiten (1923), estimated at $6,000 (low) to $8,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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