Lyonel Feininger Leads Grisebach $16.53m 'Selected Works' Auction in Berlin

A work by Lyonel Feininger was the headline sale at Grisebach 'Selected Works' auction on June 5 in Berlin.

• The sale totaled $16.53m (EUR14.43m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 63 works sold totaling $16.53m.
• Estimates totaled: $14.51m (low) and $20.53m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 73% of the original 86 lots announced.

The star lot was: Lyonel Feininger, Vollersroda III (1916), which sold for $2.15m, 92% above its $1.12m low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 287% above its low estimate. Per Kirkeby, Fünf (1989), sold for $654,800 ($169,000 low estimate).

• 33 works, or 52%, sold above their high estimate.
• 29 works, or 46%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 2%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

23 works were bought-in, including: Emil Nolde, Feuerlilien und Rittersporn (1920), estimated at $1.01m (low) to $1.35m (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.