Gerhard Richter Leads Sotheby's $12.47m Contemporary Day Auction
3 min read · 05 Mar 2026
Cage Grid (Complete Set) by Gerhard Richter sold for $682,700. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
A work by Gerhard Richter was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Contemporary Day Auction' on March 5 in London.
- The sale totaled $12.47m (GBP9.36m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.
Snapshot of the sale
- 83 works sold totaling $12.47m.
- Estimates totaled: $10.61m (low) and $15.69m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 81% of the original 103 lots announced.
The star lot was: Gerhard Richter, Cage Grid (Complete Set) (2011), which sold for $682,700, 25% above its $542,300 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.
Untitled by Anselm Reyle sold for $42,700 (214% above estimate). Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The outperformer sold for 214% above its low estimate. Anselm Reyle, Untitled (2007), sold for $42,700 ($13,600 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.
- 42 works, or 51%, sold above their high estimate.
- 34 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 7 works, or 8%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Record sale
Richard Learoyd's Tatiana in Red with New Red Chair (2012) sold for $76,800. The sale beat the photographer’s previous auction record by $14,900, a 24% rise.
Guaranteed sales
3 works were backed by guarantees, including: Al Held, Phoenicia VII (1969). It sold for $273,100, 151% above its $108,500 low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.
Works that did not sell
16 works were bought-in, including: Stanley Whitney, Healing the Feeling (2013), estimated at $406,700 (low) to $677,900 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Ilana Savdie, The Husband Stitch (2022), estimated at $108,500 (low) to $162,700 (high).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. 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.
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