Bonhams Prints & Multiples Auction Totals $2.1m

A work by Ed Ruscha was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Prints & Multiples' auction on November 10 in Los Angeles.

• The sale totaled $2.1m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 145 works sold totaling $2.1m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.5m (low) and $2.19m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 84% of the original 172 lots announced.

The star lot was: Ed Ruscha, Cheese Mold Standard with Olive (1969), which sold for $192,700, 221% above its $60,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 550% above its low estimate. MC Escher, Two Birds (Undated), sold for $26,000 ($4,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 57 works, or 39%, sold above their high estimate.
• 72 works, or 50%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 16 works, or 11%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

27 works were bought-in, including: David Hockney, Pool made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book (1980), estimated at $40,000 (low) to $60,000 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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