Charles Willson Peale Leads Sotheby's $6.48m 'Art of America' Auction in New York
3 min read · 21 Jan 2024
George Washington by Charles Willson Peale sold for $1.63m. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
A work by Charles Willson Peale was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Art of America' auction on January 19 in New York, although the museum-quality painting sold below its low estimate.
- The sale totaled $6.48m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 58 works sold totaling $6.48m.
- Estimates totaled: $6.83m (low) and $10.35m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 77% of the original 75 lots announced.
The top lot was: Charles Willson Peale, George Washington (1795), which sold for $1.63m, but that was 18% below its $2m low estimate. It has been traded 5 times in the past and had been on long-term loan to the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, and before that Mount Vernon.
The outperformer sold for 1400% above its low estimate. Jose Maria Velasco, Sin título (El bosque y el castillo de Chapultepec) (1888), sold for $61,000 ($4,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.
Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed
- 22 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
- 26 works, or 45%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 10 works, or 17%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
16 works were bought-in, including: Worthington Whittredge, Indian Encampment Under Trees (1870), estimated at $300,000 (low) to $500,000 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Asher Brown Durand, Dance of the Haymakers (1851) estimated at $300,000 (low) to $500,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.