Rago Art Unlimited Auction Totals $244,600

A work by Joe Fig was the headline sale at Rago 'Art Unlimited' auction on August 28.

• The sale totaled $244,600, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 207 works sold totaling $244,600.
• Estimates totaled: $148,900 (low) and $221,000 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 93% of the original 223 lots announced.

The star lot was: Joe Fig, Namuth's Pollock #5 (2004), which sold for $14,600, 2338% above its $600 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 5020% above its low estimate. Ryan Cosbert, An Ode to the Sons of the Great Migration: Emmett Till and Tamir Rice (2022), sold for $5,120 ($100 low estimate).

• 77 works, or 37%, sold above their high estimate.
• 27 works, or 13%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 103 works, or 50%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

14 works were bought-in, including: Gérard Haas, Head (from the Timescapes: LED Chronotype Light Sculpture series) (1970), estimated at $1,200 (low) to $1,800 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Rosy Keyser, Metanymic Study II (2013), estimated at $1,000 (low) to $1,500 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.