Peter Paul Rubens Leads Sotheby's $27.5m 'Master Paintings Part I' Auction in New York

A work by Peter Paul Rubens was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Master Paintings Part I' auction on February 6 in New York.

• The sale totaled $27.53m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 29 works sold totaling $27.53m.
• Estimates totaled: $27.38m (low) and $40.2m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 53% of the original 55 lots announced.

The star lot was: Peter Paul Rubens, Annunciation (Undated), which sold for $4.8m, 19% above its $4m low estimate. It has been traded 9 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 560% above its low estimate. Workshop Of Alessandro Filipepi, Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Undated), sold for $660,000 ($100,000 low estimate). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

• 18 works, or 62%, sold above their high estimate.
• 9 works, or 31%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 2 works, or 7%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

9 works were backed by guarantees, including: Bernardino de Conti, Portrait of an Elegantly-Attired Noblewoman in Profile (Undated). It sold for $3.12m, 56% above its $2m low estimate.. It has been traded 10 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

20 works were bought-in, including: August Strindberg, Lighthouse II (Fyrtornet II) (Undated), estimated at $4m (low) to $6m (high). It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

6 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Sano di Pietro, Saint Bernardino Resuscitating Amico After Drowning; The Miraculous Exorcism of a Possessed Woman (Undated) estimated at $600,000 (low) to $800,000 (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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.