Martin Johnson Heade Leads Sotheby's $8.7m 'Art of the Americas, Featuring the American West' Auction in New York

A work by Martin Johnson Heade was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Art of the Americas, Featuring the American West' auction on January 24 in New York.

• The sale totaled $8.7m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 82 works sold totaling $8.7m.
• Estimates totaled: $7.22m (low) and $10.72m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 85% of the original 97 lots announced.

The star lot was: Martin Johnson Heade, Hummingbirds and Gold and Purple Orchids (1875), which sold for $2.08m, 73% above its $1.2m low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 680% above its low estimate. Ernesto Icaza, Two Works [Seis jinetes lanzando toro; El ganado] (1917), sold for $78,000 ($10,000 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 32 works, or 39%, sold above their high estimate.
• 24 works, or 29%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 26 works, or 32%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

11 works were bought-in, including: Edmonia Lewis, The Bride of Spring (1879), estimated at $300,000 (low) to $500,000 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Norman Rockwell, The Candidates and their Wives (Patricia and Richard Nixon) (1972) estimated at $200,000 (low) to $300,000 (high).

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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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