Kerry James Marshall Leads Sotheby's $32.67m 'The Now Evening Auction' in New York

A work by Kerry James Marshall, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'The Now Evening Auction' on May 13 in New York.

• The sale totaled $32.67m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 16 works sold totaling $32.67m.
• Estimates totaled: $30.15m (low) and $42.6m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 89% of the original 18 lots announced.

The star lot was: Kerry James Marshall, Vignette #6 (2005), which sold for $7.48m, 6% above its $7m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 400% above its low estimate. Justin Caguiat, The saint is never busy (2019), sold for $1.09m ($200,000 low estimate), setting a new auction record for the artist, a 38% jump. It has been traded once in the past.

• 8 works, or 50%, sold above their high estimate.
• 7 works, or 44%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 6%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Auction records

Auction records were broken for works by: Faith Ringgold, a 225% jump, Justin Caguiat, a 38% jump and Lucy Bull, 3% above the artist’s previous highest sale. Also, a joint work by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat set a new auction record for their collaborative paintings.

Guaranteed sales

5 works were backed by guarantees, including: Kerry James Marshall, Vignette #6 (2005). It sold for $7.48m, 6% above its $7m low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

1 work was bought-in: Jeffrey Gibson, Always After Now (2014), estimated at $150,000 (low) to $200,000 (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Cecily Brown, Sirens and Shipwrecks and Bathers and the Band (2016) estimated at $6m (low) to $8m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.