Claude Lalanne Leads Sotheby's $11.61m 'The Collection of Sydell Miller Day Auction' in New York

A work by Claude Lalanne was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller Day Auction' on November 19 in New York.

• The sale totaled $11.61m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 54 works sold totaling $11.61m.
• Estimates totaled: $7.85m (low) and $11.8m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 93% of the original 58 lots announced.

The star lot was: Claude Lalanne, A Unique "Oiseaux" Mirror (2001), which sold for $1.02m, 2% above its $1m low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 530% above its low estimate. David Klamen, Daimoku Constellation #2 (2000), sold for $25,200 ($4,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 28 works, or 52%, sold above their high estimate.
• 19 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 11%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1957 (1957). It sold for $510,000, 2% above its $500,000 low estimate. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

4 works were bought-in, including: Henry Moore, Family Group (1948), estimated at $400,000 (low) to $600,000 (high). It has been traded 8 times 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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