Claude Monet Leads Christie's $32.7m 'Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale' in New York

A work by Claude Monet was the headline sale at Christie's 'Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale' on November 11 in New York.

• The sale totaled $32.7m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 119 works sold totaling $32.7m.
• Estimates totaled: $29.06m (low) and $43.52m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 58% of the original 204 lots announced.

The star lot was: Claude Monet, Les bords de la Seine près de Vétheuil (1881), which sold for $3.44m, 125% above its $1.5m low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 400% above its low estimate. Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Richard Guino, Buste de la maternité, variante (conceived 1917, cast 1939), sold for $44,100 ($8,000 low estimate). The bronze has been traded 4 times in the past, including by the Museum of Modern Art in 1986.

• 56 works, or 47%, sold above their high estimate.
• 52 works, or 44%, 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

82 works were bought-in, including: Edvard Munch, Karl Jensen-Hjell (1885), estimated at $1.5m (low) to $2.5m (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Gustave Caillebotte, La berge et le pont d'Argenteuil (1882) estimated at $700,000 (low) to $1m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.