Jean-Michel Basquiat Leads Phillips $52m 'Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale' in New York

A work by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Phillips 'Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale' on May 13 in New York.

• The sale totaled $51.95m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

The comparable Phillips New York sale in May 2024 totaled $86m.

Snapshot of the sale

• 31 works sold totaling $51.95m.
• Estimates totaled: $52.28m (low) and $76.34m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 78% of the original 40 lots announced.

The star lot was: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1984), which sold for $6.59m, 46% above its $4.5m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 289% above its low estimate. Olga de Amaral, Imagen perdida 27 (1996), sold for $1.17m ($300,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 12 works, or 39%, sold above their high estimate.
• 18 works, or 58%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 3%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

13 works were backed by guarantees, including: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1984). It sold for $6.59m, 46% above its $4.5m low estimate.. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Record sales

Olga de Amaral's Imagen perdida 27 (1996) sold for $1.17m, beating the artist’s previous auction record by $469,900, a 67% rise.

Works that did not sell

5 works were bought-in, including: George Condo, Social Media (2017), estimated at $2.5m (low) to $3.5m (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Pablo Picasso, Homme et femme à table (1902) estimated at $4m (low) to $6m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.