Appearing at their Manhattan auction rooms for the third time in 20 years, this time it failed to generate significant competition and sold at the bottom end of its estimate. The work was subject to a third-party guarantee arranged by the auctioneers with the buyer making an ‘irrevocable bid’ in advance of the auction.
Despite the lack of bidding, it fetched a decent return for the vendor who had bought it in the same rooms in 2008 for $30.8m (including premium). It had also previously sold at Sotheby’s back in 1996 for $7.7m (including premium).
The 3ft 4in x 3ft 5in (1.01 x 1.03m) oil on canvas dated from 1902 and made the second highest price at auction for Munch, a sum only behind the $107m (£69m) made by a version of The Scream that sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2012.
The work was one of three leading lots at the auction that all came with third-party guarantees and failed to bring competition from more than a single bidder. Another was Pablo Picasso’s Le Peintre et son modèle which was estimated at £12m-18m and sold at $11.3m (£9.04m).
A floral still life by Vincent Van Gogh also had only one interested party against a $5m-7m estimate. It sold at $5m (£4m) to an Asian private buyer.
‘Nature morte: vase aux glaïeuls’ by Vincent Van Gogh that sold for £5m (£4m) at Sotheby’s New York.
Overall, 34 of 42 lots (81%) at Sotheby’s sold for a $137.1m (£109.7m) hammer total. This figure fell shy of the auction’s $142.8m-182.5m presale estimate.
£1 = $1.25
