Picasso Leads Bonhams $1.38m 'Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples' Auction in New York

A work by Pablo Picasso was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples' auction on May 23 in New York.

• The sale totaled $1.38m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 176 works sold totaling $1.38m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.95m (low) and $2.8m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 69% of the original 254 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Nature morte à la suspension (Nature morte sous la lampe) (1962), which sold for $83,000, 38% above its $60,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 225% above its low estimate. Alex Katz, *Dog at Duck Trap * (1975), sold for $10,200 ($3,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 79 works, or 45%, sold above their high estimate.
• 81 works, or 46%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 16 works, or 9%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

78 works were bought-in, including: Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe (1967), estimated at $200,000 (low) to $300,000 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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