Anchored by superb works on paper from a storied collector-dealer and an important restituted painting by a French Impressionist, Sotheby’s evening sale of Impressionism, Modernism, and Surrealism brought a stellar £163,461,500 ($266,654,745) on Wednesday night, making it the firm’s highest-earning London auction ever.
Of the 89 lots offered, only ten failed to sell, for a crisp buy-in rate by lot of 11 percent and six percent by value. The tally obliterated pre-sale expectations of £90,310,000-128,410,000 ($147,322,703-209,475,233). Thirty-seven of the offerings sold for over one million pounds and 52 broke the million-dollar mark. Two artist records were set.