Christie's Prints and Multiples Auction Totals $6.13m

A work by Henri Matisse was the headline sale at Christie's 'Prints and Multiples' auction on October 21 in New York.

• The sale totaled $6.13m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 163 works sold totaling $6.13m.
• Estimates totaled: $4.59m (low) and $6.84m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 80% of the original 204 lots announced.

The star lot was: Henri Matisse, Jazz (1947), which sold for $537,600, 79% above its $300,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 380% above its low estimate. MC Escher, Möbius Strip II (Red Ants) (1963), sold for $96,000 ($20,000 low estimate).

• 91 works, or 56%, sold above their high estimate.
• 56 works, or 34%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 16 works, or 10%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

12 works were backed by guarantees, including: Roy Lichtenstein, Road Before the Forest, from Landscape Series (1985). It sold for $83,200, 38% above its $60,000 low estimate.

Works that did not sell

39 works were bought-in, including: Jasper Johns, The Seasons (1987), estimated at $80,000 (low) to $120,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Jasper Johns, Figure 7, from Color Numeral Series (1969), estimated at $80,000 (low) to $120,000 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.