newsfromsothebys201102

A new auction record was achieved at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Evening sale during yesterday's auction "for a work on paper by the Surrealist artist René Magritte with the sale of Le Maître d'École for £2,505,250 / US$4,040,718 / €2,952,187" to an anonymous buyer. "This gouache on paper depicting Magritte's iconic bowler-hatted man fetched a price over double the pre-sale estimate (est. £800,000-1.2 million) and double the previous record for a work on paper" by the artist. Sotheby's realize £68,834,400 (last year total revenue was more than double - £146,828,350 - for 39 lots on offer) in sale total.

Auction data:
_ Sold by lot 76.2%
_ Sold by value 84.5%
_ Of the 42 lots offered, 32 sold (10 unsold)
_ Over 93% of the sold lots last evening achieved prices at or above their estimate
_ Average lot value £2.15 million / US$3.5 million
_ 15 works sold for over £1 million, 28 sold for over US$1 million