Sotheby's Prints & Photographs Part I Auction Totals $6.62m

A work by Andy Warhol was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Prints & Photographs Part I' auction on October 8 in New York.

• The sale totaled $6.62m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 62 works sold totaling $6.62m.
• Estimates totaled: $6.5m (low) and $9.66m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 73% of the original 85 lots announced.

The star lot was: Andy Warhol, Cowboys and Indians (1986), which sold for $896,000, 28% above its $700,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 486% above its low estimate. Shomei Tomatsu, Wristwatch Stopped at 11:02, August 9, 1945, Nagasaki (1965), sold for $70,400 ($12,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 20 works, or 32%, sold above their high estimate.
• 31 works, or 50%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 11 works, or 18%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

1 work was backed by a guarantee: Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme d'après Cranach le Jeune (1958). It was bought-in. It has been traded twice in the past.

Works that did not sell

21 works were bought-in, including: Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme d'après Cranach le Jeune (1958), estimated at $500,000 (low) to $700,000 (high). It has been traded twice in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

2 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Jasper Johns, Untitled (see ULAE 255) (1991), estimated at $150,000 (low) to $250,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.