Chu Teh-chun Leads Christie's Online $4m 'Art Contemporain - Vente en ligne' Auction

A work by Chu Teh-chun was the headline sale at Christie's Online 'Art Contemporain - Vente en ligne' auction on May 27.

• The sale totaled $4.02m (EUR3.54m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 126 works sold totaling $4.02m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.1m (low) and $4.56m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 154 lots announced.

The star lot was: Chu Teh-chun, Profondeurs veloutées (1991), which sold for $229,100, 34% above its $170,000 low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 910% above its low estimate. Judit Reigl, Sans titre (Guano) (1961), sold for $22,900 ($2,267 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 70 works, or 56%, sold above their high estimate.
• 45 works, or 36%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 11 works, or 9%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

25 works were bought-in, including: Andy Warhol, Kate Smith (1956), estimated at $90,700 (low) to $136,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Anton Corbijn, Vanessa Paradis, London, 1992 (1992) estimated at $4,534 (low) to $6,801 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.