Pablo Picasso Leads Sotheby's $186.4m 'Modern Evening Auction' in New York

A work by Pablo Picasso, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Evening Auction' on May 13 in New York.

• The sale totaled $186.4m, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 50 works sold totaling $186.4m.
• Estimates totaled: $240.3m (low) and $318.7m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 77% of the original 65 lots announced.

The star lot was: Pablo Picasso, Homme assis (1969), which sold for $15.1m, 25% above its $12m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 199% above its low estimate. Hans Arp, Figure-germe dite l’apres-midinette (1959), sold for $3.59m ($1.2m low estimate). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

• 20 works, or 40%, sold above their high estimate.
• 24 works, or 48%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 6 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

27 works were backed by guarantees, including: Pablo Picasso, Homme assis (1969). It sold for $15.1m, 25% above its $12m low estimate.. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

10 works were bought-in, including: Alberto Giacometti, Grande tête mince, 1954 (1955), estimated at $70m (low) to $70m (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Record sales

A lamp designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Susan Lawrence Dana House set a new auction record for the architect-designer, selling for $7.49m

Withdrawn before the sale

5 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Wassily Kandinsky, Studie für Improvisation 10 (Study for Improvisation 10) (1910) estimated at $6m (low) to $8m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.