Let’s cut to the chase: Sotheby’s made a very smart decision to offer only what it could sell. Their tightly controlled Evening auction achieved an 85% sell through on 27 lots (23 sold) for a total of £33.53m or $55m.

Having said that, let’s look at the lots:

• Kandinsky opened the sale by doubling the high estimate with a work on paper, Wachsen, making £433,250
• Another work on paper by Matisse, study for “the Song,” missed out on doubling the high estimate but still made £457k.
• Magritte’s LA LUMIÈRE DES COÏNCIDENCES proved there was life left in the Surrealism market–or at least the Magritte market–by making £646k, well above the estimate range.
• A late Miró PERSONNAGES DEVANT L’OISEAU-FUSÉE QUI S’ENFUIT came in at £959k, more than 50% on top of the high est.
• A 1954 cast of BUSTE DE DIEGO (AMÉNOPHIS) by Giacometti hauled in £3.4m; and a BUSTE D’ANNETTE VII, got £1.27m; A unique plaster work, DIEGO (TÊTE AU COL ROULÉ), made £2.73m. It’s high est. was £1.5m
• The evening’s star lot–Picasso’s HOMME À L’ÉPÉE–didn’t shine but it did make the high water mark of £6.985m
• Jacques Lipschitz’s sculpture–ARLEQUIN AVEC CLARINETTE–sold for £385,250. Right in line with estimates.
• The Boudin Venice seascape just got over the high estimate for £205k.
• Monet’s Giverny winter landscape with the remarkable rutted snow-covered road also fell within est. range at £3.85m
• The Toulouse-Lautrec circus scene was bought in.
• The Renoir still life with the beautiful orange accents and the red flowers against a green background. It was bought for £2.84m
• A Rodin Kiss was sold for £193k
• A Signac seascape of the Golden Horn squeaked by for £1.38m
• Another strong Magritte sale for LA GRANDE TABLE at £553k
• Picasso’s late NU DEBOUT from 1968 made £4.3m
• Ben Nicholson’s COMPOSITION got over the high estimate to make £325k
• Barbara Hepworth’s THREE STANDING FORMS did the opposite and sold just at the low est. for £780k
• A Léger Composition with two profiles sold for £433k
• Paul Klee’s “Little Tree” was bought in
• August Macke’s still life of flowers sold for £385k
• a Julio Gonzalez sculpture was bought in
• A Picasso work on paper made £265k
• A Léger still life hit the high est. at £457k
• A Chagall was bought in; as was a Picasso Buste de Femme.