Canaletto Leads Christie's $54.13m Old Masters Auction

A work by Giovanni Antonio Canal, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Christie's 'Old Masters' auction on February 4 in New York.

• The sale totaled $54.13m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 37 works sold totaling $54.13m.
• Estimates totaled: $46.38m (low) and $54.79m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 45 lots announced.

The star lot was: Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto), Venice, the Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day (Undated), which sold for $30.54m. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has changed hands several times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 492% above its low estimate. Circle of Sofonisba Anguissola, Portrait of a gentleman, three-quarter-length, in a black doublet and hose, leaning on a green-draped tabletop (1563), sold for $355,600 ($60,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 16 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 16%, sold below their low estimate.

Guaranteed sales

11 works were backed by guarantees, including: Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, The Diligent Mother (‘La Mère laborieuse’) (Undated). It sold for $2.03m, 102% above its $1m low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

7 works were bought-in, including: Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, Portrait of a young boy of the Caillot family; and Portrait of Augustine Catherine Caillot (Undated), estimated at $500,000 (low) to $700,000 (high). It has been traded 9 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: The Le Nain Brothers, Portrait of Jean-Arneaud de Preyer (1598-1672), Marquis de Trésville, full-length, in a suit of armor holding a rod, with a curtain and balcony beyond (1644) estimated at $400,000 (low) to $600,000 (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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.