Sotheby's Contemporary Day Auction Totals $12.64m

A work by George Condo was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Contemporary Day Auction, including Works on Paper from the Duerckheim Collection' on October 16 in London.

• The sale totaled $12.64m (GBP9.54m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 124 works sold totaling $12.64m.
• Estimates totaled: $11.89m (low) and $17.3m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 75% of the original 165 lots announced.

The star lot was: George Condo, Tom and Jerry No. 1 (1985), which sold for $644,400, 94% above its $331,200 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1073% above its low estimate. Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, Home and Trees (1991), sold for $93,300 ($7,948 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 59 works, or 48%, sold above their high estimate.
• 50 works, or 40%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 15 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

14 works were backed by guarantees, including: Arnaldo Pomodoro, Sfera (1967). It sold for $305,200, 15% above its $264,900 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

41 works were bought-in, including: Albert Oehlen, Ohne Titel (1984), estimated at $397,400 (low) to $529,900 (high). It has been traded twice 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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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