Francis Bacon Leads Sotheby's $60m 'Contemporary Evening Auction' in London

A work by Francis Bacon, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Contemporary Evening Auction' on October 16-16 in London.

• The sale totaled $59.97m (GBP44.96m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 23 works sold totaling $59.97m.
• Estimates totaled: $44.8m (low) and $65.74m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 85% of the original 27 lots announced.

The star lot was: Francis Bacon, Portrait of a Dwarf (1975), which sold for $17.49m, 118% above its $8m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 315% above its low estimate. Lucy Bull, 9:59 (2021), sold for $1.68m ($404,200 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 5 works, or 22%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 65%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 13%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

14 works were backed by guarantees, including: Francis Bacon, Study for Self-Portrait (1980). It sold for $7.7m, 14% above its $6.74m low estimate. It has not been traded before.

Works that did not sell

4 works were bought-in, including: Hurvin Anderson's Marlene's Big Sister (2006). Estimated at $672,000 (low) to $941,000 (high) and guaranteed. It has been traded once before.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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