Claude Monet Leads Sotheby's $216m 'A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller Evening Auction' in New York

A work by Claude Monet, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller Evening Auction' on November 18 in New York.

• The sale totaled $216m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 25 works sold totaling $216m.
• Estimates totaled: $139.5m (low) and $175m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 100%, so a white-glove sale.

The star lot was: Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1914), which sold for $65.5m, 9% above its $60m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 320% above its low estimate. Edgar Degas, Edgar Degas, Grande arabesque, troisième temps (1919), sold for $1.68m ($400,000 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 8 times in the past.

• 14 works, or 58%, sold above their high estimate.
• 5 works, or 21%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 5 works, or 21%, sold below their low estimate.
• 1 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

7 works were backed by guarantees, including: Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1914). It sold for $65.5m, 9% above its $60m low estimate.. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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