Laura Knight Leads Sotheby's $5.37m 'Old Master and 19th Century Paintings and Works on Paper Day Auction' in London

A work by Laura Knight was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Old Master and 19th Century Paintings and Works on Paper Day Auction' on July 3 in London.

• The sale totaled $5.37m (GBP3.94m), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 143 works sold totaling $5.37m.
• Estimates totaled: $6.45m (low) and $9.32m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 62% of the original 230 lots announced.

The star lot was: Laura Knight, Beside the Stream (Undated), which sold for $606,700, 200% above its $202,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 598% above its low estimate. Spanish School, Two draped tables laden with an array of objects including wine glasses, a silver dish, a silver casket, a painted water jug and an apricot (Undated), sold for $65,900 ($9,427 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.

• 45 works, or 31%, sold above their high estimate.
• 53 works, or 37%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 45 works, or 31%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

85 works were bought-in, including: Philip Alexius de Laszlo de Lombos, Anny Ahlers as Madame Dubarry (1933), estimated at $336,700 (low) to $404,000 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Landscape in Passiance (Undated) estimated at $134,700 (low) to $202,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.