Andy Warhol Leads Rago Arts & Auction Center $1.8m 'Post War & Contemporary Art' Auction in Lambertville

A work by Andy Warhol was the headline sale at Rago Arts & Auction Center 'Post War & Contemporary Art' auction on January 29 in Lambertville.

• The sale totaled $1.77m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 61 works sold totaling $1.77m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.47m (low) and $2.25m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 84% of the original 73 lots announced.

The star lot was: Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup II (1969), which sold for $381,000, 27% above its $300,000 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 306% above its low estimate. Donald Baechler, Untitled (1993), sold for $20,300 ($5,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 19 works, or 31%, sold above their high estimate.
• 26 works, or 43%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 16 works, or 26%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

11 works were bought-in, including: Paul Guiragossian, Untitled (Reading Coffee Grounds) (1960), estimated at $50,000 (low) to $70,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Norbert Schwontkowski, Treib Haus (2006) estimated at $10,000 (low) to $15,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.