Marc Chagall Leads Sotheby's $36.31m 'Modern Day Auction' in New York

A work by Marc Chagall was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Day Auction' on November 19 in New York.

• The sale totaled $36.31m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 178 works sold totaling $36.31m.
• Estimates totaled: $33.81m (low) and $49.78m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 75% of the original 236 lots announced.

The star lot was: Marc Chagall, La visite de l'ange ou Juif à la Thora (1937), which sold for $1.14m, 42% above its $800,000 low estimate. It has been traded 4 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1939% above its low estimate. Emilio Baz Viaud, Retrato de Nazario Chimez Barket (1952), sold for $204,000 ($10,000 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 77 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
• 68 works, or 38%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 31 works, or 17%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

32 works were backed by guarantees, including: Henri le Sidaner, La Table, soleil dans les feuilles, Gerberoy (1917). It sold for $1.08m, 54% above its $700,000 low estimate.. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

55 works were bought-in, including: Fernand Leger, Objets contrastés sur fond bleu (1932), estimated at $800,000 (low) to $1.2m (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

5 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Henri Fantin-latour, Camomille et dahlias (1871) estimated at $150,000 (low) to $250,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.