Picasso's Bearded Man's Wife Jug Leads Phillips $566,200 'Pablo Picasso: Paper and Clay' Auction in London

Phillips 'Pablo Picasso: Paper and Clay' auction on June 6 in London exceeded high expectations.

• The sale totaled $566,200, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 41 works sold totaling $566,200.
• Estimates totaled: $274,000 (low) and $391,200 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 91% of the original 45 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Femme du barbu (Bearded Man's Wife) (1953), which sold for $52,000, 100% above its $25,400 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 500% above its low estimate. After Pablo Picasso, Portraits imaginaire (Imaginary Portraits): two plates (1969), sold for $16,300 ($2,537 low estimate).

• 34 works, or 83%, sold above their high estimate.
• 6 works, or 15%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 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

3 works were bought-in, including: David Douglas Duncan, Selected Portraits of Picasso: 13 works (1956), estimated at $8,879 (low) to $11,400 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Pablo Picasso, Hommage à Bacchus (Homage to Bacchus) (1960) estimated at $8,879 (low) to $11,400 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.