Sotheby's Discoveries Auction Including Pompidou Collection Totals $7.2m

A work by Marc Chagall was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern & Contemporary Discoveries including Works from the former Claude et Georges Pompidou Collection' auction on July 7 in Paris.

• The sale totaled $7.2m (EUR6.3m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Georges Pompidou was the President of France from 1969 to 1974 who along with his wife, Claude, was a major patron of modern art. He launched the project to build a modern art museum and cultural center in the heart of Paris that bears his name.

Snapshot of the sale

• 181 works sold totaling $7.2m.
• Estimates totaled: $4.89m (low) and $7.07m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 80% of the original 227 lots announced.

The star lot was: Marc Chagall, Iris et muguet (1980), which sold for $321,900, 86% above its $172,900 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1381% above its low estimate. Anna-Eva Bergman, N°26-1969 Multihorizon (1969), sold for $51,200 ($3,457 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 105 works, or 58%, sold above their high estimate.
• 55 works, or 30%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 21 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Francois Morellet, Répartition aléatoire de 40 000 carrés suivant les chiffres pairs et impairs d’un annuaire de téléphone, 50% bleu, 50% rouge (1961). It sold for $139,000, 101% above its $69,100 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

43 works were bought-in, including: Gunther Forg, Ohne Titel (2005), estimated at $92,200 (low) to $138,300 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Paolo Scheggi, Intersuperficie Rossa (1965), estimated at $46,100 (low) to $69,100 (high).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.