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Takashi Murakami Leads Phillips $10.4m 'Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session' in New York

3 min read  ·  15 Nov 2024

Together with the Flower Parent and Child by Takashi Murakami sold for $762,000.
Image courtesy of Phillips

Together with the Flower Parent and Child by Takashi Murakami sold for $762,000. Image courtesy of Phillips

A work by Takashi Murakami was the headline sale at Phillips 'Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session' on November 20 in New York.

  • The sale totaled $10.4m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

  • 93 works sold totaling $10.4m.
  • Estimates totaled: $9.36m (low) and $13.32m (high), excluding premiums.
  • The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 114 lots announced.

The star lot was: Takashi Murakami, Together with the Flower Parent and Child (2021), which sold for $762,000, 90% above its $400,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 450% above its low estimate. Thomas Houseago, Standing Owl I (2012), sold for $330,200 ($60,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 50 works, or 54%, sold above their high estimate.
  • 33 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
  • 10 works, or 11%, sold below their low estimate.
  • 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

2 works were backed by guarantees, including: Georg Baselitz, Der Brief von der Front (Laktionov) (1998). It sold for $508,000, 27% above its $400,000 low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

19 works were bought-in, including: Rudolf Stingel, Untitled (2014), estimated at $600,000 (low) to $800,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Andre Butzer, Calvin Cohn Disziplinar (2004) estimated at $80,000 (low) to $120,000 (high).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.