Despite a widely publicized cyberattack that forced Christie’s to take down its website—it’s still not back up nearly a week later—the house forged ahead with two evening sales on Tuesday. The first was a solid, albeit heavily orchestrated, offering of works from the collection of the late Miami collector Rosa de la Cruz. Read on for a breakdown of the sale.
Total Sales After Fees: $34.4 million
Total Sales of Equivalent Sale Last Year: Not applicable
Hammer Total: $28.1 million
Top Seller: Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s Untitled (America #3), 1992, which went for $13.6 million, edging out its $12 million high estimate.
Lots on Offer: 26
Lots Withdrawn: 1
Lots Sold: 25
Lots Bought In: 0
Sell-through Rate: 96 percent
Sell-through Rate After Withdrawals: 100 percent
Presale Low Estimate: $25 million
Presale Low Estimate After Withdrawals: $23 million
Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate: +$3 million
Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate (revised after withdrawals): +$5 million
Lots Guaranteed: 26
Lots With House Guarantees: 26
Lots With Third-Party Guarantees: 17
Total Low Estimate of Withdrawn Lots: $2 million
Total Low Estimate of Guaranteed Lots: $25 million (100 percent of total presale low estimate)
Total Low Estimate of Third-Party Guaranteed Lots: $16.6 million (66 percent of total presale low estimate)
Quote of the Night: “Everyone’s trying their luck this evening,” auctioneer Georgina Hilton said, after multiple bidders tried to split their bids into smaller increments. Later in the sale, she told one would-be haggler that “it wouldn’t be fair to the online client” he was competing against since that platform does not allow one to split a bid.
Lasting Memory: Christie’s dimmed the salesroom lights to accentuate its star lot, Felix Gonzales-Torres’s suspended string of lights, which dangled from the ceiling. It sold for an over-estimate $13.6 million to the Pola Musuem in Japan, setting a new record for the artist.
Parting Shot: It was a long night, and as bidding on a Sterling Ruby painting seemed to stretch on endlessly, with one indecisive bidder on the line with a specialist, Hilton leaned in and asked: “Oui or no?” He then added, playfully: “Fine, it’s your evening plans.”
Next Sale Up: Sotheby’s modern art evening sale on Wednesday, May 15.
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