Sotheby's Modern Discoveries Auction Totals $3.24m

A work by Prince Paul Troubetzkoy was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Discoveries' auction on February 17-26 in New York.

• The sale totaled $3.24m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 132 works sold totaling $3.24m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.9m (low) and $2.78m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 94% of the original 141 lots announced.

The star lot was: Prince Paul Troubetzkoy, After the Ball, Portrait of Mme. Adelaide Aurnheimer (1897), which sold for $166,400, 316% above its $40,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 1308% above its low estimate. Auguste Rodin, Vieillard suppliant, version assise (1981), sold for $140,800 ($10,000 low estimate). It has been traded 5 times in the past.

• 74 works, or 56%, sold above their high estimate.
• 34 works, or 26%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 24 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Milton Avery, Spring Landscape (1953). It sold for $48,600, 224% above its $15,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

9 works were bought-in, including: Georges Rouault, Domingo (1953), estimated at $60,000 (low) to $80,000 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.