Julie Mehretu Leads Christie's $2m 'Contemporary Edition: New York' Auction in New York

A work by Julie Mehretu was the headline sale at Christie's 'Contemporary Edition: New York' auction on March 14 in New York.

• The sale totaled $2m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 127 works sold totaling $2m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.55m (low) and $2.26m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 84% of the original 152 lots announced.

The star lot was: Julie Mehretu, Entropia (review) (2004), which sold for $110,900, 84% above its $60,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 900% above its low estimate. Sol LeWitt, Irregular Zigzag Bands (1996), sold for $20,200 ($2,000 low estimate).

• 64 works, or 50%, sold above their high estimate.
• 42 works, or 33%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 21 works, or 17%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

25 works were bought-in, including: KAWS, NO REPLY (2015), estimated at $70,000 (low) to $100,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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