Sotheby's Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction Totals $128.6m

A work by Claude Monet was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction' on June 24 in London.

• The sale totaled $128.6m (GBP97.05m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 34 works sold totaling $128.6m.
• Estimates totaled: $117.5m (low) and $167.7m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 81% of the original 42 lots announced.

The star lot was: Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1907), which sold for $54m, 34% above its $40.14m low estimate. It has been traded 13 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 288% above its low estimate. Mikhail Larionov, Head of a Soldier (1911), sold for $4.16m ($1.07m low estimate). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 13 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
• 15 works, or 44%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Auction record

Marlow Moss's White, Yellow and Black (1953) sold for $1.56m, a new auction record for the artist, $732,100 above her previous record sale.

Guaranteed sales

20 works were backed by guarantees, including: Mark Rothko, Untitled (1959). It sold for $11.95m, 123% above its $5.35m low estimate.. It has been traded 12 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

6 works were bought-in, including: Claude Monet, Camille assise sur la plage à Trouville (1870), estimated at $9.37m (low) to $13.38m (high). It has been traded 10 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Lynette Yiadom Boakye, Rose Nether Poetry (2012), estimated at $535,200 (low) to $802,900 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.