Bonhams Prints & Multiples Auction Totals $1.59m

A work by Salvador Dali was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Prints & Multiples' auction on July 29 in Los Angeles.

• The sale totaled $1.59m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 97 works sold totaling $1.59m.
• Estimates totaled: $1m (low) and $1.48m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 92% of the original 106 lots announced.

The star lot was: Salvador Dali, Cranes mous et harpe crânienne (Limp Cranes and 'Cranian' Harp) (1935), which sold for $51,200, 156% above its $20,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 386% above its low estimate. Robert Rauschenberg, Signs (1970), sold for $48,600 ($10,000 low estimate).

• 55 works, or 57%, sold above their high estimate.
• 34 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 8 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

9 works were bought-in, including: Willem de Kooning, Untitled from the series "Quatre Lithographies" (1986), estimated at $15,000 (low) to $25,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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