Marc Chagall Leads Phillips $900,000 'Modernism 1880-1960: Editions & Works on Paper' Auction in New York

A work by Marc Chagall was the headline sale at Phillips 'MODERNISM 1880-1960: Editions & Works on Paper' auction on April 16 in New York.

• The sale totaled $889,100, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 88 works sold totaling $889,100.
• Estimates totaled: $822,600 (low) and $1.23m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 85% of the original 103 lots announced.

The star lot was: Marc Chagall, In the Land of the Gods (1967), which sold for $101,600, 27% above its $80,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 492% above its low estimate. Henry Moore, *Ideas for Sculpture in Landscape * (1968), sold for $3,556 ($600 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 40 works, or 45%, sold above their high estimate.
• 41 works, or 47%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 7 works, or 8%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

13 works were bought-in, including: Edward Hopper, *Railroad Crossing * (1923), estimated at $60,000 (low) to $80,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: After Pablo Picasso, Vallauris (1956) estimated at $15,000 (low) to $25,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.