Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale Totals $490.3m

A work by Mark Rothko, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale on May 18 in New York. The painting bought by Agnes Gund from the artist set a new auction record for Rothko.

• The sale totaled $490.3m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 46 works sold totaling $490.3m.
• Estimates totaled: $391.6m (low) and $530.1m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 94% of the original 49 lots announced.

The star lot was: Mark Rothko, No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe) (1964), which sold for $98.39m, 22% above its $80m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 373% above its low estimate. Alice Neel, Mother and Child (Nancy and Olivia) (1967), sold for $5.69m ($1.2m low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 28 works, or 61%, sold above their high estimate.
• 17 works, or 37%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 2%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Auction records

Mark Rothko, No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe) (1964) sold for $98.39m, a 13% rise.

Alice Neel, Mother and Child (Nancy and Olivia) (1967) sold for $5.69m, a 87% rise.

Guaranteed sales

30 works were backed by guarantees, including: Roy Lichtenstein, Anxious Girl (1964). It sold for $46.06m, 15% above its $40m low estimate.. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

2 works were bought-in, including: Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Medici series, Pinturicchio Boy) (1950), estimated at $3m (low) to $5m (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Amedeo Modigliani, Almaïsa (1917), estimated at $30m (low) to $40m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.