Pierre-Auguste Renoir Leads Bonhams $3.09m 'Impressionist & Modern Art' Auction in New York

A work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir was the headline sale at Bonhams 'Impressionist & Modern Art' auction on May 16 in New York.

• The sale totaled $3.09m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 58 works sold totaling $3.09m.
• Estimates totaled: $2.17m (low) and $3.17m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 79% of the original 73 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Portrait de femme - Berthe Poret (1862), which sold for $445,000, 175% above its $150,000 low estimate. It has been traded 8 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1000% above its low estimate. Gerome Kamrowski, B #17 (1942), sold for $89,400 ($8,000 low estimate). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 29 works, or 50%, sold above their high estimate.
• 27 works, or 47%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 2 works, or 3%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

15 works were bought-in, including: Takanari Oguiss, Venice, Grand Canal, near the fish market (1935), estimated at $50,000 (low) to $70,000 (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.