Claude Monet Leads Sotheby's $235.1m 'Modern Evening Auction' in New York

A work by Claude Monet, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Evening Auction' on May 15 in New York.

• The sale totaled $235.1m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 48 works sold totaling $235.1m.
• Estimates totaled: $154.4m (low) and $226.2m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 92% of the original 52 lots announced.

The star lot was: Claude Monet, Meules à Giverny (1893), which sold for $34.8m. Estimates were undisclosed. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 11 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 300% above its low estimate. Remedios Varo, Esquiador (Viajero) (1960), sold for $4.17m ($1m low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

A talking point was Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Relief rectangulaire, cercles découpés, carrés peints et découpés, cubes et cylindres surgissants (1938), which sold for $889,000, 77% above its low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 15 works, or 32%, sold above their high estimate.
• 26 works, or 55%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 13%, sold below their low estimate.
• 1 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

33 works were backed by guarantees, including: Rene Magritte, Le Banquet (1955). It sold for $18.14m, 20% above its $15m low estimate.. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

2 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, Femme au chapeau (1941), estimated at $6m (low) to $8m (high). It has been traded 8 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Sam Francis, Yellow, Orange and Blue (1958) estimated at $2m (low) to $3m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.