Egon Schiele Leads Sotheby's $2.05m 'Modern Discoveries' Auction in New York

A work by Egon Schiele was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Discoveries' auction on September 30-30 in New York.

• The sale totaled $2.05m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 88 works sold totaling $2.05m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.38m (low) and $2.08m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 81% of the original 108 lots announced.

The star lot was: Egon Schiele, Stillleben eines Silberblattes in Blauer Vase (Still Life of a Moneyplant Branch in Blue Vase) (1906), which sold for $101,600, 154% above its $40,000 low estimate. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1805% above its low estimate. Reynolds Selfridge, Man at Work (1926), sold for $19,100 ($1,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 51 works, or 58%, sold above their high estimate.
• 25 works, or 28%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 12 works, or 14%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

18 works were bought-in, including: Lynn Chadwick, Sitting Figure V (1962), estimated at $30,000 (low) to $50,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Balthazar Lobo, Femme assise, sur socle (1940) estimated at $4,000 (low) to $6,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.