George Condo Leads Phillips $8.44m '20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale' in London

A work by George Condo was the headline sale at Phillips '20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale' on March 8 in London.

• The sale totaled $8.44m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 99 works sold totaling $8.44m.
• Estimates totaled: $8.39m (low) and $12.3m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 73% of the original 135 lots announced.

The star lot was: George Condo, Irish Girl (2002), which sold for $487,800, 20% above its $405,800 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 900% above its low estimate. Keith Tyson, Nature Painting (Deep Impact) (2011), sold for $130,100 ($12,700 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 49 works, or 49%, sold above their high estimate.
• 36 works, or 36%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 14 works, or 14%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

2 works were backed by guarantees, including: Anthony Gormley, Meme CXX (2010). It sold for $325,200, 175% above its $114,100 low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

32 works were bought-in, including: Anselm Kiefer, Pietà (2007), estimated at $380,400 (low) to $634,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Gerhard Richter, Park (1990) estimated at $126,800 (low) to $190,200 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.