Actual Size: A Curated Evening Sale
The curated Actual Size evening auction was led by an extremely well-preserved still-life of flowers by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder – which was both won and underbid by Asian private collectors – selling for £3 million / $3.7 million (est. £2-3m), an auction record for the artist in sterling. Asian interest was evident throughout the sale, with over 20% of lots in the Actual Size auction purchased by collectors from Asia. From the father of still-life painting to a record for a still-life by contemporary master Lucian Freud, whose Strawberries soared above high estimate to £1.2million / $1.5 million (est. £550,000-750,000) – or £120,000 per strawberry. Works by Pablo Picasso also performed well throughout the auction, with six works together totalling £7.9 million / $9.9 million. These were led by Buste de femme couchée from 1970 that fetched £2.4 million / $3 million – more than double its high estimate of £900,000. Eight bidders eagerly competed for the work in the room and by phone.
 

Sale Overview:
• Participation from a record 37 countries - with 20% of lots sold to Asian collectors, 20% to the US and the remainder to Europe and beyond
• 4 lots sold over £10 million
• Totals Breakdown:
Imp/Mod Eve: £127.9m / $161.3m / €145.7m
Actual Size: £20.9m / $26.4m / €23.8m
• Estimate Breakdown:
Imp/Mod Eve (23 lots) – £110.6-142.6m / $141.2-182.1m / €126.4-162.9m
Actual Size (35 lots) – £19.3-27.9m / $25-36.1m / €22.1-31.9m
• Sell-through Rates:
Imp/Mod Eve: 73.9% sold by lot
Actual Size: 65.7% sold by lot
• The sale was streamed via Facebook Live, reaching an audience of over half a million
Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale follows tomorrow: est. £17.8-25.9m / $22.7-33.1m / €20.3- 29.6m

l17006_impressionist_modern_evening_21.6.17-1.pdf

l17007_actual_size_21.6.17-1.pdf