Paul Cezanne Leads Sotheby's $21.24m 'Art Moderne et Contemporain Evening Auction' in Paris

A work by Paul Cezanne was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Art Moderne et Contemporain Evening Auction' on April 10 in Paris.

• The sale totaled $21.24m (EUR18.99m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 35 works sold totaling $21.24m.
• Estimates totaled: $14.34m (low) and $20.84m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 95% of the original 37 lots announced.

The star lot was: Paul Cezanne, La Partie de campagne or Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (1876), which sold for $1.96m, 81% above its $1.08m low estimate. It has been traded 6 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 408% above its low estimate. Andy Warhol, Flowers (1964), sold for $1.09m ($215,300 low estimate). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

• 19 works, or 54%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 43%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 3%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

3 works were backed by guarantees, including: Henri Matisse, Nu sur la chaise longue (1920). It sold for $1.96m, 9% below its $2.15m low estimate. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

2 works were bought-in, including: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Portrait de femme à la robe rose (1881), estimated at $269,100 (low) to $376,800 (high). It has been traded 16 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.