Barbara Hepworth Leads Christie's $23.19m 'Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale' in London

A work by Barbara Hepworth was the headline sale at Christie's 'Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale' on October 22 in London.

• The sale totaled $23.19m (GBP17.3m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 26 works sold totaling $23.19m.
• Estimates totaled: $22.19m (low) and $34.37m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 79% of the original 33 lots announced.

The star lot was: Barbara Hepworth, The Family of Man (Figure 8, The Bride) (1970), which sold for $5.3m, 31% above its $4.02m low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 255% above its low estimate. Paul Nash, Cloud and Two Stones (1934), sold for $476,600 ($134,100 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 10 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 58%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 4%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Bridget Riley, Dendera (1983). It sold for $1.69m, 25% above its $1.34m low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

6 works were bought-in, including: Lynn Chadwick, Beast Alerted I (1990), estimated at $670,500 (low) to $1.07m (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: L.S. Lowry, Going to the Match (1928) estimated at $2.68m (low) to $4.02m (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.