Sigmar Polke Leads Phillips $10m Modern & Contemporary Day Sale, Afternoon Session

A work by Sigmar Polke was the headline sale at Phillips 'Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session' on November 21 in New York.

• The sale totaled $10.01m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 93 works sold totaling $10.01m.
• Estimates totaled: $7.99m (low) and $11.46m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 113 lots announced.

The star lot was: Sigmar Polke, Untitled (2000), which sold for $612,700, 22% above its $500,000 low estimate. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 631% above its low estimate. Edmund de Waal, The rest of the way to Egypt (2011), sold for $219,300 ($30,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 49 works, or 53%, sold above their high estimate.
• 35 works, or 38%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 8 works, or 9%, sold below their low estimate.
• 1 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: George Condo, Untitled (1998). It sold for $374,100, 49% above its $250,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

Works that did not sell

18 works were bought-in, including: Jonas Wood, GG London NPP #1 (2017), estimated at $300,000 (low) to $400,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Thomas Houseago, STANDING FIGURE I (2014) estimated at $50,000 (low) to $70,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.