Picasso’s Crayons Brighten Sotheby’s Sale
3 min read · 07 Nov 2025
Picasso annotated the catalogue of an exhibition of his works using red, blue and yellow wax crayons in 1948. Originally a gift to a fellow artist, his longstanding friend Manuel Pallarés i Grau, the unusual work on paper was among the lots that sold this week in an online auction at Sotheby’s.
Tête d'homme (1948) went for $82,700 with premium, well above its high estimate in the auction house’s “Modern Discoveries” sale, which ran from October 30 until November 6.
The online auction rebounded to a C+ on the HENI Auction Index, having scored D in January and a C- in August. The second improvement in ten months could indicate that the lower-priced segment of the market may finally be bottoming out.
The second improvement in Sotheby's online auctions since a D grade in January 2025 could suggest the lower-priced segment of the market may finally be bottoming out.
The recently published Art Basel & UBS global survey of the art market in 2024 took heart from “robust activity in lower-priced segments”, referring to works under $50,000, but the HENI Auction Index indicates that this may not be fully reflected in the major auction house’s online sales.
Sotheby's contemporary and modern Discoveries auctions, which have been held online three to four times a year since 2022, have not scored an A on the HENI Auction index since mid 2023.
The improvement seen in the auction that ended this week was partly down to a total sales revenue and percentages of lots selling above their low and high estimates returning to their average levels.
Also, the percentages of lots bought-in and withdrawn fell and were in line with the averages of comparable sales.
On a less positive note, the number of lots traded was 30% below average.
The average hammer to mid-estimate ratio was also a third below average despite rebounding from the lowest level on record, 0.8, to 1.2. That meant on average lots hammered 20% above the average of their low and high estimates versus hammering 20% below in the August sale.
The HENI Auction Index is a unique benchmark of auction performance based on 10+ metrics, looking beyond the traditional measurements of total revenue and sell-through rate.
The improvement to a C+ this week was partly due to a significant rebound in total sales revenue.
The percentages of lots selling above their low and high estimates improved back to comporable average.
The percentages of lots bought-in and withdrawn dropped and were in line with comparables averages.
The average hammer to mid-estimate ratio rebounded from 0.8 to 1.2 but remains 30% below average.
Methodology: for how the HENI Auction Index classifies sales, see here
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