Alfred Munnings Leads Christie's $6.74m 'Old Masters to Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture' in London

A work by Alfred Munnings was the headline sale at Christie's 'Old Masters to Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture' on July 2 in London.

• The sale totaled $6.74m (GBP4.91m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 140 works sold totaling $6.74m.
• Estimates totaled: $5.69m (low) and $8.64m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 70% of the original 201 lots announced.

The star lot was: Alfred Munnings, Brown Jack (Undated), which sold for $691,900, 156% above its $269,400 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 622% above its low estimate. Attributed to Jan Steen, A seated man asleep, with a bottle in his lap (Undated), sold for $77,800 ($10,800 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 54 works, or 39%, sold above their high estimate.
• 52 works, or 37%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 34 works, or 24%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

60 works were bought-in, including: Miro Bonaccorsi, The Conversion of Saint Paul (Undated), estimated at $107,700 (low) to $161,600 (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Tintoretto, Portrait of a bearded gentleman, bust-length, in a black fur-trimmed coat (Undated) estimated at $67,300 (low) to $107,700 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.