Isaac Julien Leads Phillips $90,600 'Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon: Charity Online Auction' in Online

A work by Isaac Julien was the headline sale at Phillips 'Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon: Charity Online Auction' on March 19 in Online.

• The sale totaled $90,600, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 13 works sold totaling $90,600.
• Estimates totaled: $107,000 (low) and $156,700 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 72% of the original 18 lots announced.

The star lot was: Isaac Julien, Black Apollo Diptych (Once Again... Statues Never Die) (2022), which sold for $24,200, 26% above its $19,100 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer was: A Private Artist-Led Tour of Sonia Boyce exhibition plus lunch with the artist and Whitechapel Gallery Director (Undated), sold for $3,067 ($1,274 low estimate).

• 2 works, or 15%, sold above their high estimate.
• 9 works, or 69%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 2 works, or 15%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

5 works were bought-in, including: Shadi Al-Atallah, They Were Right (2023), estimated at $10,200 (low) to $15,300 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.