LOS ANGELES, CA.- Grapes, a rare complete suite of six prints, by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) found great success when it more than doubled its estimate ($200,000 250,000) at
Bonhams Prints & Multiples sale in Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 29 with a final sale price of $462,813. With these screenprints, Warhol brings a new approach to the traditional genre of still life. Four additional Warhol prints present in the sale also sold beyond their estimates including Mick Jagger for $137,813 against an estimate of $50,000 70,000.
A smashing success for the department, the sale overall achieved $4,067,781 inc. premium with a sell-through rate of 91% and sold by value rate of 99%, with many works hitting record prices including Grapes by Warhol, Lithographic water made of lines and crayon by David Hockney ($195,313; against estimate of $60,000 80,000), and Dark Cake by Wayne Thiebaud ($56,563; against estimate of $20,000 30,000).
The trends we see among buyers have been endlessly positive, with enthusiastic participation from bidders across the globe. In this sale, we saw a number of works exceed high estimates by leaps and bounds and established several world auction records. It remains clear that the prints and multiples market continues to remain buoyant, said Morisa Rosenberg, Bonhams Director of Prints & Multiples in LA. With more than 600 registrants and plenty of new buyers, were continuing to see strength year over year in the market and this area of collecting.
The seven prints by Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) also performed well beyond expectations. Leading the group were Reflection on Soda Fountain which sold for $137,813 (Estimate: $50,000 70,000) and Modern Art I for $94,063 (Estimate: 20,000 30,000), which are record prices for the works.