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

3 min read  ·  19 Nov 2024

A Unique "Oiseaux" Mirror by Claude Lalanne sold for $1.02m.
Image courtesy of Sotheby's

A Unique "Oiseaux" Mirror by Claude Lalanne sold for $1.02m. Image courtesy of Sotheby's

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.

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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