Christie's Old Masters Evening Sale Totals $50.85m
3 min read · 01 Jul 2026
Portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, K.G., K.B., M.P. (1769-1852), bust-length, in civilian dress with a military cloak, wearing the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece by Sir Thomas Lawrence sold for $12.76m. Image courtesy of Christie's
A work by Sir Thomas Lawrence was the headline sale at Christie's 'Old Masters Evening Sale' on June 30 in London.
- The sale totaled $50.85m (GBP38.52m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 34 works sold totaling $50.85m.
- Estimates totaled: $39.18m (low) and $57.73m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 85% of the original 40 lots announced.
The star lot was: Thomas Lawrence, Portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, K.G., K.B., M.P. (1769-1852), bust-length, in civilian dress with a military cloak, wearing the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1821), which sold for $12.76m, 19% above its $10.67m low estimate.
Painted after the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the portrait has been traded 5 times in the past.
Mehmed II and the Patriarch Gennadius outside the Walls of Constantinople by Girolamo da Santacroce sold for $888,500 (565% above estimate). Image courtesy of Christie's
The outperformer sold for 565% above its low estimate. Girolamo da Santacroce, Mehmed II and the Patriarch Gennadius outside the Walls of Constantinople (Undated), sold for $888,500 ($133,400 low estimate). It has been traded 4 times in the past.
- 17 works, or 50%, sold above their high estimate.
- 16 works, or 47%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 1 works, or 3%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
11 works were backed by guarantees, including: Jan van Huysum, Peaches and grapes in a wicker basket, with fruit and flowers arranged on a marble ledge, including plums, raspberries, redcurrants, melon, hazelnuts, poppy, morning glory, forget-me-not, cockscomb and jasmine, a stone column and terracotta urn beyond, decorated with putti, holding an opium poppy, with butterflies and insects (Undated). It sold for $8.6m, 114% above its $4m low estimate.. It has been traded 13 times in the past.
Works that did not sell
6 works were bought-in, including: Bernardo Bellotto, Venice, the Bacino di San Marco from the Canale della Giudecca (Undated), estimated at $5.34m (low) to $8.01m (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Withdrawn before the sale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. 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.
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