Sotheby's Modern British & Irish Art Evening Auction Totals $11.77m

A work by Paul Henry was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern British & Irish Art Evening Auction' on October 14 in London.

• The sale totaled $11.77m (GBP8.9m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 24 works sold totaling $11.77m.
• Estimates totaled: $9.95m (low) and $14.57m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 71% of the original 34 lots announced.

The star lot was: Paul Henry, The Potato Harvest (1918), which sold for $1.17m, 252% above its $331,200 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 283% above its low estimate. Magdalene Odundo, Untitled (1985), sold for $406,200 ($106,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 11 works, or 46%, sold above their high estimate.
• 13 works, or 54%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 0 works, or 0%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Auction record

Paul Henry, The Potato Harvest (1918), sold for $1.17m, beating the artist’s previous auction record by $302,500, a 34% rise.

Guaranteed sales

4 works were backed by guarantees, including: Barbara Hepworth, Shaft and Circle (1972). It sold for $1.16m, 25% above its $925,500 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

Works that did not sell

9 works were bought-in, including: Sean Scully, Wall of Light Sea Blue (2009), estimated at $662,300 (low) to $1.06m (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Bridget Riley, Intervals 6 (2019), estimated at $529,900 (low) to $794,800 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.