Rene Magritte Leads Bonhams $8.27m '20th / 21st Century Art Evening Sale' in New York

A work by Rene Magritte was the headline sale at Bonhams '20th / 21st Century Art Evening Sale' on May 15 in New York.

• The sale totaled $8.27m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 19 works sold totaling $8.27m.
• Estimates totaled: $11.95m (low) and $19.27m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 66% of the original 29 lots announced.

The star lot was: Rene Magritte, La voix du sang (1947), which sold for $1.59m, 32% above its $1.2m low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 175% above its low estimate. Marina Perez Simão, Untitled (2021), sold for $178,300 ($60,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 7 works, or 37%, sold above their high estimate.
• 9 works, or 47%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 16%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

7 works were bought-in, including: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1986), estimated at $550,000 (low) to $750,000 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup I (1968) estimated at $1m (low) to $1.8m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.