Sotheby's Contemporary Curated Auction With the Collection of Robert A.M. Stern Totals $38.62m
3 min read · 08 Oct 2026
Flowers by Andy Warhol sold for $6.34m. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
A work by Andy Warhol was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Contemporary Curated featuring the Collection of Robert A.M. Stern' auction on October 7 in New York.
- The sale totaled $38.62m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Robert A.M. Stern was an architect, former dean of the Yale School of Architecture as well as a collector.
Snapshot of the sale
- 125 works sold totaling $38.62m.
- Estimates totaled: $30.19m (low) and $43.06m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 80% of the original 157 lots announced.
The star lot was: Andy Warhol, Flowers (1964), which sold for $6.34m, 153% above its $2.5m low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.
Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut by Annie Leibovitz sold for $140,800 (1660% above estimate). Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The outperformer sold for 1660% above its low estimate. Annie Leibovitz, Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut (2000), sold for $140,800 ($8,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.
- 52 works, or 42%, sold above their high estimate.
- 51 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 22 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
13 works were backed by guarantees, including: Helen Frankenthaler, Ocean End (1974). It sold for $2.56m, 70% above its $1.5m low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.
Works that did not sell
29 works were bought-in, including: Wayne Thiebaud, Pie a la mode (1961), estimated at $800,000 (low) to $1.2m (high). It has been traded twice in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Thomas Schutte, Stahlfrau Nr. 18 (2006), estimated at $800,000 (low) to $1.2m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.
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