Henry Moore Leads Sotheby's $14.91m 'Modern British & Irish Art Evening Auction' in London

A work by Henry Moore was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern British & Irish Art Evening Auction' on November 21 in London.

• The sale totaled $14.91m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 22 works sold totaling $14.91m.
• Estimates totaled: $13.82m (low) and $20.98m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 63% of the original 35 lots announced.

The star lot was: Henry Moore, Head (1929), which sold for $5.62m, 125% above its $2.46m low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 175% above its low estimate. Magdalene Odundo, Mixed-Colour Narrow (1987), sold for $103,500 ($36,800 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

A talking point was L.S. Lowry, Beach Scene, Lancashire (1947), which sold for $1.5m, 22% above its $1.25m low estimate. The work, which was sold by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Canada, has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 5 works, or 23%, sold above their high estimate.
• 16 works, or 73%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 5%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Stanley Spencer, Hilda Choosing a Dress (1936). It sold for $716,600, 16% above its $614,100 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

Works that did not sell

12 works were bought-in, including: L.S. Lowry, Up North (1957), estimated at $675,500 (low) to $921,100 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Roger Hilton, Untitled (1959), estimated at $86,000 (low) to $122,800 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.