London's auction houses held seven sales of Modern British art this week, achieving £22.3 million (including buyer's premium) against a presale estimate range of £21.3 million to £31.7 million. A total of 547 of 705 lots sold, a 77.6% sell-through rate. Bonhams struggled, with half its top lots unsold, including a Henry Moore bronze estimated at £1–2 million, but Pyms gallery and art adviser Wentworth Beaumont bought key works below estimate. Sotheby's raised £6.4 million, led by Edward Burra's *Striptease, Harlem* (1934) at £842,500, and a Paul Nash watercolor tripled its estimate to £212,500. Christie's achieved the highest total at £12 million, topped by Barbara Hepworth's *Figure (Sunion)* (1960), bought by Pyms gallery for over £800,000.
This week's sales underscore the resilience of the Modern British art market, with strong demand for well-priced, fresh-to-market works and records set for artists like Paul Nash and Roger Hilton. The results also highlight the critical role of dealers and art advisers in absorbing key lots when estimates prove too ambitious, as seen at Bonhams. The performance of works from notable collections—Frank Cohen's Burra watercolors and architect Eugene Rosenberg's holdings—demonstrates that provenance and condition continue to drive premium prices in this category.