Pablo Picasso Leads Rago Arts & Auction Center $608,200 'Curated: PICASSO' Auction in Lambertville

A work by Pablo Picasso was the headline sale at Rago Arts & Auction Center 'Curated: PICASSO' auction on June 25 in Lambertville.

• The sale totaled $608,200, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 57 works sold totaling $608,200.
• Estimates totaled: $541,500 (low) and $823,000 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 78% of the original 73 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Nature morte à la suspension (1962), which sold for $50,400, 16% below its $60,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 700% above its low estimate. Pablo Picasso, Ceramics by Picasso (1950), sold for $8,820 ($1,000 low estimate).

• 30 works, or 53%, sold above their high estimate.
• 13 works, or 23%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 14 works, or 25%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

14 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, Portrait de Femme (1936), estimated at $20,000 (low) to $40,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Pablo Picasso, Head of a Girl (from À Pablo Picasso by Paul Eluard) (1945) estimated at $5,000 (low) to $8,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.