Marc Chagall's Clowns Lead Christie's Online $2.59m 'Marc Chagall – a Dialogue of Self and Soul' Auction

Christie's Online 'Marc Chagall – a Dialogue of Self and Soul: Works Formerly from the Artist’s Estate' auction on June 26 saw 100% of lots exceeding their low estimate.

• The sale totaled $2.59m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 53 works sold totaling $2.59m.
• Estimates totaled: $741,300 (low) and $1.12m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 100%, so a white-glove sale.

The star lot was: Marc Chagall, Clown à la corbeille (1937), which sold for $287,500, 275% above its $76,400 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 1000% above its low estimate. Marc Chagall, Etude pour 'A ma femme' (recto); Etude pour 'Le samovar' (verso) (1943), sold for $44,700 ($3,821 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 52 works, or 98%, sold above their high estimate.
• 1 works, or 2%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 0 works, or 0%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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