William Blake Leads Christie's $4.87m 'Maurice Sendak: Artist, Collector, Connoisseur' Auction in New York

A work by William Blake, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Christie's 'Maurice Sendak: Artist, Collector, Connoisseur' auction on June 10 in New York.

• The sale totaled $4.87m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 48 works sold totaling $4.87m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.94m (low) and $5.89m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 83% of the original 58 lots announced.

The star lot was: William Blake, Songs of Experience (1794), which sold for $1.86m, 86% above its $1m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 6 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 299% above its low estimate. Artists Unknown, Mickey and Minnie Mouse Motorcycle (1935), sold for $119,700 ($30,000 low estimate).

• 27 works, or 56%, sold above their high estimate.
• 12 works, or 25%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 9 works, or 19%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: William Blake, Songs of Experience (1794). It sold for $1.86m, 86% above its $1m low estimate. It has been traded 6 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

10 works were bought-in, including: William Blake, Oberon and Titania on a Lily (Undated), estimated at $400,000 (low) to $600,000 (high). It has been traded 5 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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