Thomas Cole Leads Christie's $6.8m 'American Sublime' Auction in New York

A work by Thomas Cole was the headline sale at Christie's 'American Sublime: Property from an Important Private Collection' auction on January 23 in New York.

• The sale totaled $6.8m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 38 works sold totaling $6.8m.
• Estimates totaled: $5.42m (low) and $8.22m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 88% of the original 43 lots announced.

The star lot was: Thomas Cole, Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire (1827), which sold for $1.62m, 102% above its $800,000 low estimate. It has been traded 12 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 488% above its low estimate. Homer Dodge Martin, Adirondack Lake (1863), sold for $176,400 ($30,000 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 18 works, or 47%, sold above their high estimate.
• 13 works, or 34%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 7 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

5 works were bought-in, including: Winslow Homer, Boy with Blue Dory (1880), estimated at $700,000 (low) to $1m (high). It has been traded 9 times 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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