Sanford Robinson Gifford Leads Christie's $8.28m Art Auction

A work by Sanford Robinson Gifford was the headline sale at Christie's '19th Century American and Western Art' auction on January 23 in New York.

• The sale totaled $8.28m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 98 works sold totaling $8.28m.
• Estimates totaled: $5.15m (low) and $7.8m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 89% of the original 110 lots announced.

The star lot was: Sanford Robinson Gifford, Sunset Over the Palisades on the Hudson (1879), which sold for $2.88m, 140% above its $1.2m low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 773% above its low estimate. Antonio Jacobsen, 1885 America's Cup: Puritan versus Genesta (1886), sold for $69,800 ($8,000 low estimate).

• 61 works, or 62%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 15%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 22 works, or 22%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

2 works were backed by guarantees, including: Henry Ossawa Tanner, Home of Jeanne D'Arc (1918). It sold for $368,300, 84% above its $200,000 low estimate.. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

12 works were bought-in, including: Childe Hassam, Coaching Scene, Paris (1888), estimated at $300,000 (low) to $500,000 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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