Berthe Morisot Leads Christie's $18.45m 'Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale' in London

A work by Berthe Morisot was the headline sale at Christie's 'Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale' on October 17 in London.

• The sale totaled $18.45m (GBP13.73m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 125 works sold totaling $18.45m.
• Estimates totaled: $15.16m (low) and $23.27m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 80% of the original 156 lots announced.

The star lot was: Berthe Morisot, Jeanne Gobillard au piano et Julie Manet (1888), which sold for $802,300, 19% above its $674,100 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 2432% above its low estimate. Rene Magritte, Sans titre (1919), sold for $68,300 ($2,697 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 73 works, or 58%, sold above their high estimate.
• 44 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 8 works, or 6%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

9 works were backed by guarantees, including: Erich Heckel, Haus am Berg (1923). It sold for $20,500, 203% above its $6,741 low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

31 works were bought-in, including: Pierre Bonnard, Sunburn (The Terrace of 'My Caravan' in Vernonnet) (1916), estimated at $606,700 (low) to $1.01m (high). It has been traded 4 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.