NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s annual Masters Week auctions concluded on Friday in New York, with a total of $41.9 million. There were strong results throughout the series for paintings, sculpture and works on paper spanning from the medieval era to the 19th century. Below is a look at the works that led these sales:

MASTER PAINTINGS & SCULPTURE EVENING SALE
Auction Total: $27.2 Million
Thursday’s sale was led by a recently discovered work by Sir Peter Paul Ruben, Study of a Horse with Ride (estimate $1/1.5 million), which achieved $5,075,00 – more than 3 times the high estimate. Until recently. the work had been described as by a follower of Sir Anthony Van Dyck. However, the authorship had been difficult to discern due to overpaint and background added later, which dominated the original scene. With the removal of these later additions, the canvas has been revealed as a work of high quality, and a typical example of the spirited and rapidly-painted oil sketches for which Rubens is celebrated.

The evening sale set 5 artist records, led by top prices for Willem Drost and Adam de Coster. Six bidders competed for Flora (estimate $400/600,000), one of Willem Drost’s finest works. The sale price of $4,625,000 marked a new auction record for the artist, breaking the previous record set in 1992. Adam de Coster’s dramatic nocturne, A Young Woman Holding a Distaff Before a Lit Candle, again set a new auction record for the artist when it sold for $4,850,000, surpassing the previous record it had established at Sotheby’s in 1992.

Christopher Apostle, Head of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings Department in New York, commented: “On Wednesday evening we saw exceptional prices for several exceptional pictures – this market understands and appreciates a masterpiece when it sees one. That applies both to famed artists like Rubens and Botticelli, who continue to attract a global audience, as well as names celebrated among connoisseurs like Drost and de Coster, both of whom saw new auction records set tonight. We had strong private bidding across our field, including participation from Asian and Russian collectors, with Dutch 17th-century pictures, early Italian, and Flemish works performing particularly well.”

MASTER PAINTINGS & SCULPTURE DAY SALE
Auction Total: $8.6 million
The Day Sale of Master Paintings & Sculpture was led by phenomenal results for a selection of museum-quality sculptures from the medieval age. Margaret Schwartz, Head of Sotheby’s European Sculpture & Works of Art Department, said: “We were thrilled with the performance of an incredibly rare altarpiece, The Martyrdom Altarpiece from second half of the 15th century, which sold for $1.3 million. The work is the only known example of a complete Nottingham altarpiece that illustrates this theme. Furthermore, we saw intense competition for an exceedingly rare Eucharistic Dove circa 1215-35, one of only 50 known examples made by the Limoges workshops, which ultimately sold for more than three times its estimate. Overall we are pleased to see continued demand for top-quality medieval works, which remain highly relevant and sought-after by a global pool of collectors.”

OLD MASTER DRAWINGS
Auction Total: $4.2 million
Sotheby’s auction of Old Master Drawings totaled $4.5 million, surpassing the sale’s overall high estimate. The auction was led by two remarkable watercolors by J.M.W. Turner, both on offer from the direct descendants of Ralph Brocklebank – the scion of an important shipping family, who became chairman of Mersey Docks and Harbour Board. Appearing on the market for the first time in nearly 150 years, Switzerland: Possibly Lake Thun (estimate $150/250,000) and Switzerland: Lake Thun, looking towards the Nissen and Stockhorn (estimate $140/180,000) fetched $756,500 and $612,500 respectively – more than three times their high estimates.

Gregory Rubinstein, Worldwide Head of Old Master & Early British Drawings, commented: “We are very pleased with Wednesday’s sale, which saw exceptional prices for a diversity of works spanning from the 16th through the 19th centuries. As always, high quality and freshness of material were primary drivers of our results. A global audience of private collectors, including those from America, Europe and the Middle East, vied for the opportunity to own works emerging from prominent private collections, such as the Forbes Collection and the Berger Educational Trust – both of which realized totals well above pre-sale expectations.”

MASTER PAINTINGS & 19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN ART
Auction Totals: $1.5 million
Sotheby's Masters Week auctions concluded Friday afternoon with the sale of Master Paintings & 19th Century European Art. The auction was led by Matteo Rosselli’s Diana The Huntress, on offer from the collection of celebrated philanthropist, Marjorie S. Fisher, which soared over its estimate of $10/15,000 to achieve a price of $100,000.