Joan Mitchell Leads Phillips $19.86m 'Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale' in London

A work by Joan Mitchell, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Phillips 'Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale' on March 6 in London.

• The sale totaled $19.86m (GBP15.39m), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 26 works sold totaling $19.86m.
• Estimates totaled: $23.15m (low) and $34.6m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 84% of the original 31 lots announced.

The star lot was: Joan Mitchell, Canada II (1975), which sold for $3.5m, 7% below its $3.79m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 483% above its low estimate. Ding Shilun, The adoption of the maiden (2021), sold for $147,500 ($25,300 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 7 works, or 27%, sold above their high estimate.
• 14 works, or 54%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 5 works, or 19%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

8 works were backed by guarantees, including: Joan Mitchell, Canada II (1975). It sold for $3.5m, 7% below its $3.79m low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

3 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, Tête d’homme et nu assis (1964), estimated at $1.9m (low) to $2.53m (high). It has been traded 6 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale, Attese (1958) estimated at $1.26m (low) to $2.53m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.