Piet Mondrian Leads Christie's $272m 'Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works' Auction in New York

A work by Piet Mondrian, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Christie's 'Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works' auction on May 12 in New York.

• The sale totaled $271.9m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 37 works sold totaling $271.9m.
• Estimates totaled: $172.5m (low) and $246.5m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 95% of the original 39 lots announced.

The star lot was: Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue (1922), which sold for $47.56m. Estimates were undisclosed. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 202% above its low estimate. John D Graham, Head of a Woman (1954), sold for $302,400 ($100,000 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 8 works, or 23%, sold above their high estimate.
• 22 works, or 63%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 5 works, or 14%, sold below their low estimate.
• 2 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

38 works were backed by guarantees, including: Pablo Picasso, Femme à la coiffe d'Arlésienne sur fond vert (Lee Miller) (1937). It sold for $28.01m, 40% above its $20m low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

1 work was bought-in: Julio Gonzalez, Forme sévère (1936), estimated at $8m (low) to $12m (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Franz Kline, Untitled (1955) estimated at $7m (low) to $10m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.