Cecily Brown Leads Christie's $20.63m Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale
3 min read · 07 Mar 2026
Mean Eyed Cat by Cecily Brown sold for $1.36m. Image courtesy of Christie's
A work by Cecily Brown was the headline sale at Christie's 'Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale' on March 7 in London.
- The sale totaled $20.63m (GBP15.43m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 109 works sold totaling $20.63m.
- Estimates totaled: $14.63m (low) and $21.92m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 133 lots announced.
The star lot was: Cecily Brown, Mean Eyed Cat (2012), which sold for $1.36m, 67% above its $809,800 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.
Untitled by Keith Haring sold for $152,800 (466% above estimate). Image courtesy of Christie's
The outperformer sold for 466% above its low estimate. Keith Haring, Untitled (1983), sold for $152,800 ($27,000 low estimate). It has been traded 4 times in the past.
- 53 works, or 49%, sold above their high estimate.
- 45 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 11 works, or 10%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
7 works were backed by guarantees, including: Wade Guyton, Untitled (2015). It sold for $93,400, 42% below its $162,000 low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.
Works that did not sell
20 works were bought-in, including: Lynette Yiadom Boakye, The World In Agreement With (2011), estimated at $404,900 (low) to $674,800 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Joe Bradley, Repo (2013), estimated at $108,000 (low) to $162,000 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.
Get the HENI News Daily Art Digest delivered to your inbox