XCOPY Leads Sotheby's, Online $7.8m 'Contemporary Discoveries' Auction
3 min read · 07 Mar 2024
data_lords by XCOPY sold for $330,200. Image courtesy of Sotheby's, Online
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.
Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed
- 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Withdrawn before the sale
3 works were withdrawn before the sale, including: Joseph Kosuth, Fetishism (Corrected) #7 (1988) estimated at $30,000 (low) to $40,000 (high).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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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.
