Walter Sickert Leads Sotheby's $3.1m 'Unlocking the Vault: Renaissance to Modern Works from the Daniel Katz Gallery' Auction in London

A work by Walter Sickert was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Unlocking the Vault: Renaissance to Modern Works from the Daniel Katz Gallery' auction on June 10 in London.

• The sale totaled $3.1m (GBP2.3m), falling short of its pre-sale low estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 69 works sold totaling $3.1m.
• Estimates totaled: $3.13m (low) and $4.61m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 73% of the original 95 lots announced.

The star lot was: Walter Sickert, The Rialto Bridge and the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi (1901), which sold for $703,700, 246% above its $203,200 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 448% above its low estimate. Sir William Nicholson, Portrait of a Young Girl in a Black Dress (1908), sold for $11,200 ($2,032 low estimate). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

• 27 works, or 39%, sold above their high estimate.
• 29 works, or 42%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 13 works, or 19%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

22 works were bought-in, including: Lynn Chadwick, Second Version of Snapping Turtle (1954), estimated at $243,900 (low) to $338,700 (high). It has been traded once in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

4 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Attributed to Antonio Rizzo, Relief with the Virgin and Child (Undated) estimated at $135,500 (low) to $203,200 (high).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. 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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.