Sotheby's Prints Part II Auction Totals $3.63m

A work by M.C. Escher was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Prints Part II' auction on April 8-15 in New York.

• The sale totaled $3.63m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 133 works sold totaling $3.63m.
• Estimates totaled: $2.04m (low) and $3.05m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 94% of the original 141 lots announced.

The star lot was: M.C. Escher, Magic Mirror (1946), which sold for $140,800, 252% above its $40,000 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 433% above its low estimate. Roy Lichtenstein, Nude in the Woods (Black State) (1981), sold for $64,000 ($12,000 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded once in the past.

• 86 works, or 65%, sold above their high estimate.
• 31 works, or 23%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 16 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

15 works were backed by guarantees, including: Roy Lichtenstein, Yellow Vase, from the Interior series (1991). It sold for $96,000, 37% above its $70,000 low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

8 works were bought-in, including: Edward Hopper, Railroad Crossing (1923), estimated at $50,000 (low) to $70,000 (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Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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