Richard Diebenkorn Leads Sotheby's, Online $4.6m 'Prints & Multiples' Auction

A work by Richard Diebenkorn was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Prints & Multiples' auction on April 19.

• The sale totaled $4.6m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 164 works sold totaling $4.6m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.76m (low) and $5.59m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 85% of the original 192 lots announced.

The star lot was: Richard Diebenkorn, Green (1986), which sold for $381,000, 27% above its $300,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 600% above its low estimate. Hank Willis Thomas, All Lies Matter (2019), sold for $7,620 ($1,000 low estimate).

• 63 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
• 74 works, or 45%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 27 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

28 works were bought-in, including: Roy Lichtenstein, *Two Nudes, from Nudes Series * (1994), estimated at $200,000 (low) to $250,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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