Helen Frankenthaler Leads Phillips $14.57m 'Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session' in New York

A work by Helen Frankenthaler was the headline sale at Phillips 'Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session' on May 15 in New York.

• The sale totaled $14.57m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 100 works sold totaling $14.57m.
• Estimates totaled: $14.96m (low) and $21.81m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 76% of the original 132 lots announced.

The star lot was: Helen Frankenthaler, Spirits of Wine (1972), which sold for $1.17m, 2% below its $1.2m low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1300% above its low estimate. Emmi Whitehorse, Canyon Lake I (2001), sold for $177,800 ($12,000 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 40 works, or 40%, sold above their high estimate.
• 49 works, or 49%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 11 works, or 11%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

28 works were bought-in, including: Philip Guston, Untitled (1958), estimated at $350,000 (low) to $500,000 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Andy Warhol, Three works: (i-iii) Bobby Short (1963) estimated at $600,000 (low) to $800,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.