Martin Johnson Heade Leads Christie's $13.15m '19th Century American & Western Art' Auction in New York

A work by Martin Johnson Heade was the headline sale at Christie's '19th Century American & Western Art' auction on January 18 in New York.

• The sale totaled $13.15m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 84 works sold totaling $13.15m.
• Estimates totaled: $9.5m (low) and $13.93m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 83% of the original 101 lots announced.

The star lot was: Martin Johnson Heade, Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds (1871), which sold for $3.44m, 175% above its $1.2m low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 500% above its low estimate. David Gilmour Blythe, Family Prayers and The Sequel: A Pair of Works (1856), sold for $252,000 ($40,000 low estimate). It has been traded 6 times in the past.

• 43 works, or 51%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 18%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 26 works, or 31%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

16 works were bought-in, including: Ernest Martin Hennings, Along the Greasewood Trail (Undated), estimated at $600,000 (low) to $800,000 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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