Sotheby's Significant Old Masters Auction Falls Short, Generating Only $64.7 Million.
A recently concluded Sotheby's sale of 55 Old Master works, amassed over the decades by Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III, realized a total of $64.7 million, significantly below the initial estimate of $80 million to $120 million.
The single-owner auction held on May 21 showcased works dating from the 16th to the early 19th century, sourced from across Europe. Two of the sale's 43 lots were withdrawn before the auction, and 17 failed to sell at the event, resulting in a disappointing sell-through rate of 58.5 percent. With withdrawals accounted for, the rate drops further. All the works were secured with house guarantees, and 16 lots were additionally supported by third-party guarantees.
A secondary auction on May 22 offered 14 additional works from the Saunders collection. These lots also bore guarantees from Sotheby's, but five of them failed to find buyers, resulting in a sell-through rate of 58.3 percent.
Experts attribute the low sell-through rate for the evening sale to a mix of factors, including overly adverse estimates, shifting preferences among Old Master buyers, the auction's timing, and the numerous guarantees. Art dealer Nicholas Hall, the former head of the Old Masters department at Christie's, commented on our website that guarantees, whether in-house or third-party, can discourage potential buyers because they prefer to establish their own valuations of the pieces.
The top lot of the sale was Francesco Guardi's Venice, A View of the Punta della Dogana and the Church of Santa Maria della Salute; Venice, A View of the Churches of San Giorgio Maggiore and Santa Maria della Salute, which sold for $10.5 million, including fees, on a low estimate of $10 million. It was the only lot to break the eight-figure mark.
Pieces by Luis Meléndez, Gerrit Dou, and Adriaen Coorte performed admirably, with the Meléndez painting, Still Life with a Cauliflower, a Basket with Eggs, Leeks, and Fish, and Assorted Kitchen Utensils, igniting a bidding war that lasted nearly five minutes before being sold to a bidder in the room, setting a new auction record for the artist.
Sotheby's noted that nearly a quarter of the works sold to bidders in the room, with "strong bidding and buying from collectors in Asia." Most of the sold works went to private collectors, while records were also established for Jan van Kessel the Elder, Adam Pynacker, Bartholomew Maton, and Jean Barbault.
Hall noted that lots like the works by Meléndez, Post, and Coorte received competitive bidding, while others attracted only a single bid, demonstrating the varying appeal of the works to potential buyers. Hall added that these pieces had an aesthetic appeal to contemporary collectors in a way that, for instance, a Bruegel still life might be less likely to have.
By contrast, two other works by Guardi, both with estimates of $200,000 to $300,000 and house guarantees, did not sell. Hall suggested that Guardi's market may have been a lot more competitive two decades ago than it is now.
When it comes to high-end single-owner sales like this, auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's often compete by offering aggressive estimates. Hall, who spent 12 years running the Old Masters department at Christie's, said that Sotheby's offered "very bullish" estimates on many of the paintings from the Saunders collection. "I don't think that helped the sale," he commented. "I think it made for a steeper hill to climb when you've got very, very aggressive estimates. And that's got nothing to do with the Old Master paintings as a category."
Another private dealer and former senior auction house executive echoed Sotheby's assessment, telling our website that the auction achieved "very strong results." The dealer also noted that while lower estimates might have resulted in more sales, it is more productive to focus on the actual results rather than comparing them to the initial estimates.
The timing of the sale was not ideal, with a stronger market typically found in London in July or New York in January or early February. "The Old Masters market is a very conservative, old-fashioned world," Hall said, explaining that buyers tend to gather in specific locations and times. Notably, Christie's did not have a similarly important Old Masters sale at this time.
In terms of overall market trends, the Old Masters market is facing fluctuations in auction results due to factors such as shifting buying behaviors, economic conditions, and the specific characteristics of the artworks themselves.
Some key elements contributing to these fluctuations include buyers' preferences for more accessible and investment-oriented art, economic uncertainty, a trend towards a broader interest in Old Masters, and competitive cross-category bidding. Diverse geographic regions, such as Asia and the Americas, also play a role in driving demand and competitive bidding.
Historical significance, condition, and provenance can significantly impact the performance of individual works, with newly discovered works or high-historical-value artworks attracting significant attention and fetching strong prices.
The artist, Nicholas Hall, commented that some works, such as those by Luis Meléndez, Gerrit Dou, and Adriaen Coorte, received competitive bidding due to their aesthetic appeal to contemporary collectors. In contrast, two works by Francesco Guardi, despite having house guarantees, did not sell, suggesting that Guardi's market may no longer be as competitive as it was two decades ago. The auctions held by Sotheby's, with a total of $64.7 million, realized less than the initial estimate of $80 million to $120 million, and potential buyers may have been discouraged by the numerous guarantees, according to Hall. The collectors showed strong interest in the Old Masters auction, with nearly a quarter of the works sold to bidders in the room and significant attention given to works with historical significance or provenance.
