Magritte Leads Sotheby's $97m Modern Evening Auction in New York

A work by Rene Magritte was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Evening Auction' on November 20 in New York.

• The sale totaled $96.97m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 29 works sold totaling $96.97m.
• Estimates totaled: $76.6m (low) and $110.1m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 91% of the original 32 lots announced.

The star lot was: Rene Magritte, Le Jockey perdu (1942), which sold for $12.34m, 37% above its $9m low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 492% above its low estimate. Joan Miro, Personnages et oiseau devant le soleil (1939), sold for $2.37m ($400,000 low estimate). It has been traded 5 times in the past.

• 12 works, or 41%, sold above their high estimate.
• 12 works, or 41%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 5 works, or 17%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

9 works were backed by guarantees, including: Georgia O'Keeffe, Large Dark Red Leaves on White (1927). It sold for $7.86m, 30% above its $6m low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Claude Monet, Un Parc à Pourville (1882) estimated at $4m (low) to $6m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.