Pablo Picasso Leads Sotheby's $406.4m 'The Emily Fisher Landau' Auction in New York

Femme à la montre by Pablo Picasso sold for $139.4m. Image courtesy of Sotheby's

A work by Pablo Picasso, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: An Era Defined' on November 8 in New York.

• The sale totaled $406.4m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 31 works sold totaling $406.4m.

• Estimates totaled: $344.5m (low) and $430.1m (high), excluding premiums.

• The sell-through rate was 100%, so a white-glove sale.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Femme à la montre (1932), which sold for $139.4m, 16% above its $120m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 200% above its low estimate. Agnes Martin, Grey Stone II (1961), sold for $18.72m ($6m low estimate), an auction record for the artist. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded twice in the past.

A talking point was Mark Tansey Triumph Over Mastery II (1987), which sold for $11.82m, 47% above its $8m low estimate, an auction record for the artist. It has been traded once in the past.

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

8 works, or 26%, sold above their high estimate.

18 works, or 58%, sold within their low and high estimate.

5 works, or 16%, sold below their low estimate.

0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

All 31 works in the sale were backed by guarantees, including: Pablo Picasso, Femme à la montre (1932).

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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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