Lucien Levy-Dhurmer Leads Sotheby's $5.3m 'Old Master & 19th Century Paintings Day Auction' in London

A work by Lucien Levy-dhurmer was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Old Master & 19th Century Paintings Day Auction' on December 5 in London.

• The sale totaled $5.37m (GBP4.22m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 108 works sold totaling $5.37m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.56m (low) and $5.25m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 70% of the original 154 lots announced.

The star lot was: Lucien Levy-dhurmer, Le Bassin d'Apollon, Versailles (1924), which sold for $1.3m, 413% above its $253,100 low estimate. It has been traded 6 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 865% above its low estimate. Circle of Carlo Maratta, Susanna and the Elders; Bathsheba at her Bath (Undated), sold for $183,300 ($19,000 low estimate). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

• 43 works, or 40%, sold above their high estimate.
• 47 works, or 44%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 18 works, or 17%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

42 works were bought-in, including: John Atkinson Grimshaw, Beechwood (1867), estimated at $50,600 (low) to $75,900 (high). It has been traded 4 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Ludolf Bakhuyzen I, A seascape with 'smalschips' on choppy seas, said to be Tsar Peter the Great's 'boeier' off Amsterdam (1797) estimated at $63,300 (low) to $88,600 (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. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.