Ahead of the June Impressionist evening auctions in London, Pi-eX Pre-auction Snapshot outlines the key points observed based on the auction houses newly published catalogues. 

 1. The total number of lots catalogued at Christie’s & Sotheby’s in June 2019 decreased versus the previous year, back to its 2016-2017 level:

This year the number of lots catalogued at Christie’s and Sotheby’s Impressionist evening sales decreased by almost 30% versus the previous year from 81 lots in 2018 to 59 lots this year.

This resumes the systematic trend observed since 2012 of a reduction of Impressionist artworks being offered at the London June Impressionist evening sales.

2. The Total Low Estimates of lots to be auctioned at Christie’s & Sotheby’s increased in 2019 vs 2018:

The total Low Estimates (LE) for the catalogued impressionist lots (lots with estimates only) increased from £113m to £129m. 

This was mostly driven by a larger number of lots featuring a Low Estimate (LE) above £10m.

Interestingly, there are less lots with Estimates on Request (EOR) this year:  only one lot “Femme in a Fauteuil” by Fernand Leger (with a whispered estimate of £25m) versus four lots in 2018 (which together reached a total Hammer Price of £74m).

 3. Most lots with a Low Estimate above £5m have been offered auction houses' guarantees:

Among catalogued lots with a LE above £5m, only two artworks are to be auctioned without a guarantee: Christie’s Fernand Leger “Femme dans un fauteuil” and Sotheby’s Modigliani “Jeune Homme Assis, Les Mains Croisées Sur Les Genoux”.   

All other artworks are covered by Auction Houses’ guarantees for an estimated total value of almost £56m (about 43% of the total LE to be auctioned).   Less than a week ahead of the sale, out of all artworks guaranteed by the auction houses, only one artwork has an Irrevocable Bid.

While this could still change in the coming days, the performance of lots with Irrevocable Bids at the June London Impressionist evening sales over the past few years could explain why there may not be many candidates willing to be Third Party Guarantors at this year’s auctions.