John Wesley Leads Sotheby's $914,000 'Works from the Collection of A.G. Rosen, Part II' Auction
3 min read · 13 Dec 2024
Man Regarding Couch by John Wesley sold for $42,000. Image courtesy of Sotheby's, Online
A work by John Wesley was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Between Thought and Expression: Works from the Collection of A.G. Rosen, Part II' auction on December 12.
- The sale totaled $914,000, falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.
It was said that A.G. Rosen was a collector and life-long gallery-goer who "bought what he could of the best of what he saw".
Snapshot of the sale
- 127 works sold totaling $914,000.
- Estimates totaled: $1.13m (low) and $1.64m (high), excluding premiums.
- The sell-through rate was 95% of the original 134 lots announced.
The star lot was: John Wesley, Man Regarding Couch (1987), which sold for $42,000, 16% below its $50,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.
The outperformer sold for 572% above its low estimate. Nan Goldin, Amanda in the Sauna, Hotel Savoy, Berlin (1994), sold for $33,600 ($5,000 low estimate). It has been traded once in the past.
Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed
- 26 works, or 20%, sold above their high estimate.
- 27 works, or 21%, sold within their low and high estimate.
- 74 works, or 58%, sold below their low estimate.
- 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.
Guaranteed sales
No sales had a guarantee.
Works that did not sell
7 works were bought-in, including: Mark Grotjahn, Untitled (Black) (2001), estimated at $50,000 (low) to $70,000 (high). It has been traded once in the past.
Withdrawn before the sale
0 works were withdrawn
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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.