Andy Warhol Leads Sotheby's, Online $690,600 'Prints & Multiples' Auction

A work by Andy Warhol was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Prints & Multiples' auction on December 4.

• The sale totaled $690,600 (EUR655,900), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 37 works sold totaling $690,600.
• Estimates totaled: $497,200 (low) and $705,300 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 45 lots announced.

The star lot was: Andy Warhol, African Elephant, from Endangered Species (1983), which sold for $164,200, 123% above its $73,600 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 320% above its low estimate. Max Pechstein, Sommer II (1912), sold for $17,700 ($4,204 low estimate).

• 13 works, or 35%, sold above their high estimate.
• 16 works, or 43%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 8 works, or 22%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

8 works were bought-in, including: Thomas Schutte, Architektur Modelle 1980 - 2006 (2006), estimated at $31,500 (low) to $52,600 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.