Rene Magritte Leads Sotheby's $99.6m 'Pauline Karpidas Evening Auction' in London

A work by Rene Magritte, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Pauline Karpidas: The London Collection Evening Auction' on September 17 in London.

• The sale totaled $99.58m (£73.19m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 55 works sold totaling $99.58m.
• Estimates totaled: $53.09m (low) and $74.76m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 100%, so a white-glove sale.

The star lot was: Rene Magritte, La Statue volante (1958), which sold for $13.77m, 12% above its $12.22m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1008% above its low estimate. François-Xavier Lalanne, Console Végétale (2011), sold for $2.71m ($244,500 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has not been traded before.

• 38 works, or 69%, sold above their high estimate.
• 12 works, or 22%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 5 works, or 9%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

55 works were backed by guarantees, including: Francis Picabia, Deux amies (1940). It sold for $4.54m, 51% above its $2.99m low estimate.. It has been traded 6 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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