Roy Lichtenstein Leads Bonhams Skinner $743,300 'Prints & Photographs' Auction

A work by Roy Lichtenstein was the headline sale at Bonhams Skinner 'Prints & Photographs' auction on January 14.

• The sale totaled $743,300, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 159 works sold totaling $743,300.
• Estimates totaled: $508,500 (low) and $746,800 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 194 lots announced.

The star lot was: Roy Lichtenstein, Landscape with Boats (1996), which sold for $95,800, 36% above its $70,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 1037% above its low estimate. Andy Warhol, *Cow * (1976), sold for $20,500 ($1,800 low estimate).

• 77 works, or 48%, sold above their high estimate.
• 41 works, or 26%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 41 works, or 26%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

33 works were bought-in, including: Mary Cassatt, Baby Held Before an Oval Mirror (1900), estimated at $10,000 (low) to $15,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: MC Escher, XXIV Emblemata (13 plates) (1931) estimated at $10,000 (low) to $15,000 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.