Sotheby's - A Scholar Collects

Executive Summary

The "A Scholar Collects" auction in New York presented an intriguing collection of 41 lots, achieving a sell-through rate of 80.49% with 33 lots sold. This rate signifies a strong demand within the niche of scholar-collected items, resulting in a total auction value of $6,345,090. The significant total hammer price of $5,067,000, augmented by a buyer's premium of $1,227,420, underscores the high caliber of artworks offered and the market's readiness to invest, as evidenced by an average lot price of $192,275.45. However, this figure was influenced by particularly high hammer prices for certain lots, skewing the overall average.

Financial Analysis

1. Outstanding Performances: Notably, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun's "Self-Portrait in Travelling Costume" significantly exceeded its estimate, selling for $2,500,000 against an $850,000 estimate, indicating a fervent market interest in her work.
2. Varied Collector Interest: While some pieces, like Vigée Le Brun's portrait of the Duchesse de Guiche, fetched less than expected, others, such as Jean-Baptiste Isabey's portrayal of Napoléon Ier, also did not meet their anticipated estimates, suggesting nuanced collector preferences.
3. Exceptional Overperformances: Lot 40, "Le Congrès de Vienne" by John Godfrey, and works by Vigée Le Brun and Hubert Robert, achieved hammer prices significantly over their estimates, highlighting an underestimated interest in historical and classical artworks among collectors.