Goya Leads Sotheby's $2m Old Master Prints Auction

A work by Goya was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Old Master Prints' auction on November 28-December 5 in London.

• The sale totaled $2.2m (GBP1.65m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 66 works sold totaling $2.2m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.51m (low) and $2.26m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 87% of the original 76 lots announced.

The star lot was: Goya, Los Caprichos (1797), which sold for $474,400, 44% above its $327,700 low estimate. It has been traded 7 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 653% above its low estimate. Rembrandt, The Return of the Prodigal Son (1636), sold for $59,300 ($7,865 low estimate).

• 37 works, or 56%, sold above their high estimate.
• 26 works, or 39%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 5%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

9 works were bought-in, including: Rembrandt, Abraham Entertaining the Angels (1656), estimated at $39,300 (low) to $65,500 (high). It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

1 work was withdrawn before the sale: Albrecht Durer, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, from The Apocalypse (1497) estimated at $52,400 (low) to $78,700 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.