Gustav Bauernfeind Leads Sotheby's $21.02m 'Master Paintings & Sculpture Part I' Auction in New York

A work by Gustav Bauernfeind was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Master Paintings & Sculpture Part I' auction on February 1 in New York.

• The sale totaled $21.02m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 30 works sold totaling $21.02m.
• Estimates totaled: $22.99m (low) and $35.14m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 57% of the original 53 lots announced.

The star lot was: Gustav Bauernfeind, The Western Wall (Undated), which sold for $3.45m, 72% above its $2m low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 275% above its low estimate. Master of the Agilolphus Altar, Saint Agricius of Trier and Saint Anno of Cologne (Undated), sold for $1.14m ($300,000 low estimate). It has been traded 6 times in the past.

The 16th-century painting of the two saints belonged to the collection of Jacques Goudstikker until 1940 when it was seized by Herman Göring. The heirs of the Dutch-Jewish art dealer recovered the looted work of art in 2006.

• 13 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
• 14 works, or 47%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 10%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

3 works were backed by guarantees, including: Salomon van Ruysdael, Ships on the Boven-Merwede with Gorinchem in the Distance (1659). It sold for $2m, its estimated price.. It has been traded 15 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

19 works were bought-in, including: Peter Paul Rubens, Self-Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Undated), estimated at $3m (low) to $5m (high). It has been traded 19 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Evaristo Baschenis, Still Life with Musical Instruments (Undated) estimated at $600,000 (low) to $800,000 (high).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.