Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Online Auction Totals $2.64m
3 min read · 22 Oct 2026
Untitled by Cecily Brown sold for $145,200. Image courtesy of Christie's
A work by Cecily Brown was the headline sale at Christie's 'Post-War and Contemporary Art Online' auction on October 7-21 in London.
- The sale totaled $2.64m (GBP1.98m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 150 works sold totaling $2.64m.
- Estimates totaled: $2.07m (low) and $3.05m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 81% of the original 185 lots announced.
The star lot was: Cecily Brown, Untitled (2009), which sold for $145,200, 630% above its $19,900 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.
Apparat, mit den eine Kartoffel eine andere Kartoffel umkreisen kann (Study for Apparatus Whereby One Potato Can Orbit Another) by Sigmar Polke sold for $64,900 (1125% above estimate). Image courtesy of Christie's
The outperformer sold for 1125% above its low estimate. Sigmar Polke, Apparat, mit den eine Kartoffel eine andere Kartoffel umkreisen kann (Study for Apparatus Whereby One Potato Can Orbit Another) (1967), sold for $64,900 ($5,299 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.
- 53 works, or 35%, sold above their high estimate.
- 65 works, or 43%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 32 works, or 21%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
34 works were bought-in, including: Ettore Spalletti, Così com’è (1998), estimated at $66,200 (low) to $92,700 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Larry Rivers, Portrait of Frank O'Hara (1952), estimated at $7,949 (low) to $10,600 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.
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