Sotheby's Modern Day Auction Including the Lewis Collection Totals $23.48m

A work by Pablo Picasso was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Day Auction including Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection' on June 25 in London.

• The sale totaled $23.48m (GBP17.8m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 86 works sold totaling $23.48m.
• Estimates totaled: $14.3m (low) and $20.5m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 86% of the original 100 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Portrait de Dora Maar (1936), which sold for $1.69m, 110% above its $802,900 low estimate. It has been traded 6 times in the past and was consigned by the Lewis family.

The outperformer sold for 657% above its low estimate. Michael Clark, Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1983), sold for $50,700 ($6,691 low estimate). It has been traded 3 times in the past and was consigned by the Lewis family.

• 54 works, or 63%, sold above their high estimate.
• 29 works, or 34%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 3%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

11 works were backed by guarantees, including: Kees van Dongen, Au bois (Au bois de Boulogne) (1909). It sold for $506,700, 24% below its $669,100 low estimate.. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

13 works were bought-in, including: Juan Gris, La Jarre (1924), estimated at $267,600 (low) to $401,400 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Georges Braque, Bouquet et langouste (1942), estimated at $160,600 (low) to $240,900 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.