XCOPY Leads Sotheby's, Online $7.8m 'Contemporary Discoveries' Auction

A work by XCOPY was the headline sale at Sotheby's, Online 'Contemporary Discoveries' auction on March 4.

• The sale totaled $7.8m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 368 works sold totaling $7.8m.
• Estimates totaled: $6.89m (low) and $10.11m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 82% of the original 451 lots announced.

The star lot was: XCOPY, data_lords (2020), which sold for $330,200, 65% above its $200,000 low estimate. It has been traded twice in the past.

The outperformer sold for 1400% above its low estimate. Leon Albert Golub, Untitled (1981), sold for $279,400 ($18,000 low estimate). It has not been traded before.

• 143 works, or 39%, sold above their high estimate.
• 110 works, or 30%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 115 works, or 31%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

80 works were bought-in, including: John McLaughlin, Number 9 (1967), estimated at $100,000 (low) to $150,000 (high). It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Withdrawn before the sale

3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Joseph Kosuth, Fetishism (Corrected) #7 (1988) estimated at $30,000 (low) to $40,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.