Peter Halley Leads Phillips $5.36m 'New Now' Auction in London
3 min read · 07 Dec 2023
Soul Control by Peter Halley sold for $320,300. Image courtesy of Phillips
A work by Peter Halley was the headline sale at Phillips 'New Now' auction on December 6 in London.
- The sale totaled $5.36m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 144 works sold totaling $5.36m.
- Estimates totaled: $4.17m (low) and $6.07m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 80% of the original 180 lots announced.
The star lot was: Peter Halley, Soul Control (1991), which sold for $320,300, 150% above its $126,300 low estimate. It has been traded 6 times in the past.
The outperformer sold for 1600% above its low estimate. Wynnie Mynerva, Bailo mi ritmo, pero no me detengo (2022), sold for $176,200 ($10,100 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.
A talking point was Alfie Caine, Houlgate Villa (2020), which sold for $104,100, 500% above its $15,000 low estimate. The work has not been traded before.
Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed
- 60 works, or 42%, sold above their high estimate.
- 57 works, or 40%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 27 works, or 19%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
33 works were bought-in, including: Joel Mesler, Untitled (YES, Dollar, Euro, Yen) (2019), estimated at $88,400 (low) to $126,300 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Günther Förg, Untitled (1994) estimated at $151,600 (low) to $227,400 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.