Karel Appel Leads Artcurial $1.26m 'Art Contemporain' Auction in Paris

A work by Karel Appel was the headline sale at Artcurial 'Art Contemporain' auction on April 5 in Paris.

• The sale totaled $1.26m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 249 works sold totaling $1.26m.
• Estimates totaled: $858,500 (low) and $1.27m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 78% of the original 319 lots announced.

The star lot was: Karel Appel, *Fruit still life * (1978), which sold for $32,600, 67% above its $19,500 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1,000% above its low estimate. Constant, Untitled (1963), sold for $12,800 ($1,084 low estimate). The work by Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys, better known as Constant, has not been traded before.

• 160 works, or 64%, sold above their high estimate.
• 84 works, or 34%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 5 works, or 2%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

62 works were bought-in, including: Jacques de la Villegle, Rue de la Maison Blanche (1987), estimated at $16,300 (low) to $27,100 (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

7 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Constant, Untitled (Undated) estimated at $3,252 (low) to $5,421 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.