James Brown Wyeth Leads Sotheby's, Online $2.1m 'Modern Discoveries' Auction

A work by James Brown Wyeth was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Modern Discoveries' auction on February 27.

• The sale totaled $2.1m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 108 works sold totaling $2.1m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.96m (low) and $2.85m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 131 lots announced.

The star lot was: James Brown Wyeth, Night Wind (1983), which sold for $139,700, 39% above its $100,000 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 725% above its low estimate. Leonor Fini, Three Prints (1970), sold for $1,651 ($200 low estimate).

• 46 works, or 43%, sold above their high estimate.
• 34 works, or 31%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 28 works, or 26%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

21 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, *Vase aztèque aux quatre visages * (1957), estimated at $100,000 (low) to $120,000 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Edmund D Lewandowski, Shore Hopper (1938) estimated at $10,000 (low) to $15,000 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.