Bonhams Realizes £1,878,430 at 20th and 21st Century Art Day Sale

The Bonhams 20th and 21st Century Art Day Sale, in a sale that closed on 16 October 2026, achieved a total realized figure of £1,878,430,^[1] with 46 of 61 lots sold representing a 75.4% sell-through^[1] rate. Bonhams published these official results on its online auction platform.

The auction featured notable consignments from prominent international collections, including a selection of works by Colombian master Fernando Botero sourced from a private collection in Sydney. Among these, Botero's bronze sculpture Ballerina, incised with the artist's signature and numbered 5/6, was originally acquired from Dennis Hotz Fine Art in 1992. Another major highlight from the same Sydney collection was Botero's oil on canvas Still Life with Oranges, painted in 1989 and featured on the cover of Connaissance des Arts in October 1992. Additionally, the sale presented Alex Katz's large-scale oil on linen Bill, which was painted in 2000 and previously exhibited at Pace Wildenstein in New York.

The bidding activity reflected steady interest in established post-war and contemporary names alongside modern masters. Botero's bronze Ballerina led the auction, followed closely by his vibrant tropical still life. The contemporary segment saw strong participation for Ksenia Pasyura's 2024 painting Love Story, which found a buyer well above its high estimate, while Pablo Picasso's unique ceramic work Le Banderillero also surpassed its high estimate. Works by Fernando Zóbel and André Butzer remained unsold during the session, demonstrating the selective nature of bidding across different segments of the day sale catalogue.\n\nSource note: The auction house publishes this official lot page as part of the sale, providing a direct first-party source for the listed object.^[5]