Marc Chagall Leads Christie's $7.36m 'Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper' Auction in New York

A work by Marc Chagall was the headline sale at Christie's 'Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper' auction on November 20 in New York.

• The sale totaled $7.36m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 81 works sold totaling $7.36m.
• Estimates totaled: $5.25m (low) and $7.92m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 89% of the original 91 lots announced.

The star lot was: Marc Chagall, Ecuyère au bouquet sur un cheval (1955), which sold for $1.01m, 101% above its $500,000 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 656% above its low estimate. Mane-katz, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (1945), sold for $7,560 ($1,000 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 53 works, or 65%, sold above their high estimate.
• 17 works, or 21%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 11 works, or 14%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

10 works were bought-in, including: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bougival, les Grand Boulevards (1880), estimated at $200,000 (low) to $300,000 (high). It has been traded 6 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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