Tadashi Sato Leads Bonhams $926,600 'The Art of Hawaii' Auction

A work by Tadashi Sato was the headline sale at Bonhams 'The Art of Hawaii' auction on August 7.

• The sale totaled $926,600, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 110 works sold totaling $926,600.
• Estimates totaled: $565,800 (low) and $862,300 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 73% of the original 150 lots announced.

The star lot was: Tadashi Sato, Untitled (1975), which sold for $108,500, 803% above its $12,000 low estimate. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 905% above its low estimate. Ambrose McCarthy Patterson, Surfers at Waikiki with Diamond Head (Undated), sold for $7,040 ($700 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 41 works, or 37%, sold above their high estimate.
• 37 works, or 34%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 32 works, or 29%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

40 works were bought-in, including: Hon Chew Hee, Three Artists (John Chin Young, Pablo Picasso, and Self-Portrait) (1976), estimated at $30,000 (low) to $50,000 (high). It has not been traded before.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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