Rothko Leads Christie's $218m Robert and Patricia Ross Weis Auction

A work by Mark Rothko, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Christie's 'The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis' auction on November 17 in New York.

• The sale totaled $218.1m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 16 works sold totaling $218.1m.
• Estimates totaled: $182.3m (low) and $226.7m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 89% of the original 18 lots announced.

The star lot was: Mark Rothko, No. 31 (Yellow Stripe) (1958), which sold for $62.16m, 24% above its $50m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 201% above its low estimate. Joan Miro, Sans titre (Personnages) (1934), sold for $3.61m ($1.2m low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 10 works, or 62%, sold above their high estimate.
• 3 works, or 19%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 19%, sold below their low estimate.

Guaranteed sales

18 works were backed by guarantees, including: Pablo Picasso, La Lecture (Marie-Thérèse) (1932). It sold for $45.48m, 13% above its $40m low estimate.. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

2 works were bought-in, including: Franz Kline, Placidia (1961), estimated at $10m (low) to $15m (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.