The Sotheby’s auction I flagged on Sunday is still going on — it’s just 8:23 p.m. — but the three lots I mentioned in that post have been sold. Big.
Lot 13, Monet’s Le Bassin aux Nymphaes, whose presale estimate was $20- to $30 million, fetched $24,722,500, including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 14, Modigliani’s Jeanne Hebuterne, which carried a presale estimate of $9- to $12 million, brought $19,122,500, including the buyer’s premium.
That’s $43,845,000 for both, with the bulk of the money going to the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, whose main program is YoungArts, the creation of the late Ted Arison, founder of Carnival Cruise Lines, and his wife, Lin.
It’s hard to tell exactly what the Foundation will get — Sotheby’s collects a buyer’s premium (25% of the first $50,000; 20% of the amount up to $1 million, and 12% of the hammer price after that) and often a percentage of the seller’s take, which is negotiable and may be waived.
I’d guess the Foundation’s take is about $38 million.
As for the fabulous Modigliani, Nude Sitting On A Divan, the buyer paid $68,962,500 — a new record for the artist.
The total for the whole sale, at the moment, has topped $211 million. Happy days are here again.
More coming.
UPDATE: The final total for the entire sale was $227,561,000.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby’s