Robert Indiana Leads Phillips $10.6m 'Modern & Contemporary Day Sale' in London

A work by Robert Indiana was the headline sale at Phillips Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale on October 18 in London.

• The sale totaled $10.57m (£7.87m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 104 works sold totaling $10.57m.
• Estimates totaled: $7.2m (low) and $10.44m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 94% of the original 111 lots announced.

The star lot was: Robert Indiana, Love-Blue-Green (1997), which sold for $658,700, 172% above its $241,400 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 481% above its low estimate. Auguste Rodin, Main droite n° 07, petite modèle (1948), sold for $78,000 ($13,400 low estimate). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 54 works, or 52%, sold above their high estimate.
• 35 works, or 34%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 15 works, or 14%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Auction records

Tomas Saraceno's Superstring (2010) sold for $138,700, beating the artist’s previous auction record by $19,000, a 15% rise.

Poppy Jones's Shell (2022) sold for $60,700. The sale beat the artist’s previous auction record by $12,400, a 25% rise.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

6 works were bought-in, including: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fleas, Flies (Undated), estimated at $201,100 (low) to $335,200 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Robert Indiana, GE (1991) estimated at $160,900 (low) to $335,200 (high).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. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.