Yoshitomo Nara Leads Christie's $2.23m '20th/21st Century Art' Online Auction

A work by Yoshitomo Nara was the headline sale at Christie's '20th/21st Century Art' online auction on April 2.

• The sale totaled $2.23m, meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 55 works sold totaling $2.23m.
• Estimates totaled: $1.56m (low) and $2.67m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 92% of the original 60 lots announced.

The star lot was: Yoshitomo Nara, In the Floating World (set of 16 works) (1999), which sold for $209,300, 36% above its $153,400 low estimate. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 600% above its low estimate. Fang Lijun, 2001.6.4 (2001), sold for $96,600 ($12,800 low estimate). It has been traded twice in the past.

• 21 works, or 38%, sold above their high estimate.
• 31 works, or 56%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 3 works, or 5%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

2 works were backed by guarantees, including: Izumi Kato, Untitled (2008). It sold for $77,300, 72% above its $44,700 low estimate.. It has been traded 3 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn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Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.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