Sotheby's Modern Evening Auction Totals $303.9m

A work by Henri Matisse, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Modern Evening Auction' on May 19 in New York.

• The sale totaled $303.9m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 41 works sold totaling $303.9m.
• Estimates totaled: $247.3m (low) and $337.4m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 91% of the original 45 lots announced.

The star lot was: Henri Matisse, La Chaise lorraine (1919), which sold for $48.41m, 93% above its $25m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 131% above its low estimate. Paul Klee, Gartenfigur (Garden Figure) (1932), sold for $4.63m ($2m low estimate). Once owned by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, it has been traded 12 times in the past.

• 18 works, or 44%, sold above their high estimate.
• 20 works, or 49%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 7%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

24 works were backed by guarantees, including: Pablo Picasso, Arlequin (Buste) (1909). It sold for $42.64m, 6% above its $40m low estimate.. It has been traded 6 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

1 work was bought-in: Auguste Rodin, Penseur, Taille de la Porte dit "Moyen Modèle" (1880) (1928), estimated at $8m (low) to $12m (high). It has been traded 9 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Diego Giacometti, "Promenade des Amis" Console (1976), estimated at $2.5m (low) to $3.5m (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.