Results: Sotheby's 19th Century European Art Sale

Sotheby's held its large New York 19th Century European Art Sale on October 22nd.  While many of the reviews and before that anticipation of the sale have been less than optimistic.  The results are not real strong, but Sotheby's does, of course, try to place a positive spin on the results.

The sale included 138 lots, with 74  selling, for a 54.3 sell through rate.  It is hare to put a good spin on that figure.  The sale totaled $9.92 million including buyers premiums. The top ten lots accounted for over $6.5 million of the total sales.  Only one painting sold for above $1 million, being Frederick Lord Leighton's, Venus Disrobing for the Bath and was a record for the artist at auction. It was estimated at $1.2 - $1.5 million and sold for $1.87 million including buyers premium (see image).

There has been some criticism that the quality of the lots of this sale where not up to standard and perhaps some should not have been offered in this important NY European art auction. Although the consensus among many is the sale quality was not of the highest caliber, the results were also consistent with sales that have not offered the best quality art, which at best is mediocre. You will note from the Sotheby's statement below there is no mention of the poor percentage of art sold at this sale. The focus was on the relatively few items which performed well.

Sotheby's spokesman Polly Sartori, Director of 19th Century European Paintings, said of the sale.

We were very pleased with the prices achieved today, and especially happy to see two works from a Distinguished Private Collection claim the top two prices of the sale and set new auction records. Frederick, Lord Leighton’s Venus Disrobing for the Bath was an extraordinary painting, and surpassed the previous record price for the artist set almost twenty years ago in 1990. Edward Hughes’ Dream Idyll was a one-of-a-kind picture that rarely appears on the market, and no fewer than ten bidders from around the world competed for it, driving the price well above the previous artist record. Our sale today confirmed once again that our clients seek out the most valuable works produced by the 19th century’s most important European artists.