Jean-Michel Basquiat Leads Sotheby's $104.6m 'Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction, including the Ralph I. Goldenberg Collection' in London

A work by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction, including the Ralph I. Goldenberg Collection' on June 25 in London.

• The sale totaled $104.6m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 45 works sold totaling $104.6m.
• Estimates totaled: $97.4m (low) and $137.8m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 83% of the original 54 lots announced.

The star lot was: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict (1982), which sold for $20.32m, 6% above its $19.1m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 250% above its low estimate. Francoise Gilot, Autoportrait en blanc (Étude de formes) (1944), sold for $456,800 ($127,400 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 20 works, or 44%, sold above their high estimate.
• 18 works, or 40%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 7 works, or 16%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

33 works were backed by guarantees, including: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict (1982). It sold for $20.32m, 6% above its $19.1m low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past. In 2022, Basquiat’s 1982 painting had a $30m estimate at Christie’s before it was withdrawn.

Works that did not sell

6 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, Portrait de femme (1953), estimated at $3.57m (low) to $4.46m (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Tamara de Lempicka, Nu adossé I (1925) estimated at $7.64m (low) to $10.19m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.