Tamara de Lempicka Leads Sotheby's $85m 'Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction' in London

A work by Tamara de Lempicka, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction' on June 24 in London.

• The sale totaled $84.9m (GBP62.5m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 40 works sold totaling $84.9m.
• Estimates totaled: $82.26m (low) and $121.1m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 77% of the original 52 lots announced.

The star lot was: Tamara de Lempicka, La Belle Rafaëla (1927), which sold for $10.15m, 24% above its $8.12m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 486% above its low estimate. Yu Nishimura, through the snow (2023), sold for $396,800 ($67,700 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 13 works, or 32%, sold above their high estimate.
• 20 works, or 50%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 7 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Record sale

Marlow Moss's abstract, White, Black, Blue and Red (1944), set a new auction record for the Constructivist artist when it sold for $828,100.

Guaranteed sales

20 works were backed by guarantees, including: Tamara de Lempicka, La Belle Rafaëla (1927). It sold for $10.15m, 24% above its $8.12m low estimate.. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

8 works were bought-in, including: Barbara Hepworth, Vertical Forms (1965), estimated at $2.71m (low) to $4.06m (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Henry Moore, Reclining Mother and Child (1961) estimated at $4.74m (low) to $7.45m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.