Sex sells. However, it apparently does not sell as well as Phillips de Pury & Co. had hoped when they held their sex–themed auction in London, which earned only a modest 69 percent sell-through rate by lot. The evening's priciest artwork was Soft Tread, a lush painting of stocking-clad legs by Allen Jones that earned an impressive £361,000 ($539,000) on a £60–80,000 ($90–120,000) estimate. In total, the sale brought in £1.4 million ($2.1 million) for the entrepreneurial auction house.

Rounding out the second and third spots in the sale were an untitled Sigmar Polke from 1974 that featured two subjects engaged in the auction’s eponymous act, which earned £121,000, and Jack Piersons three-part 1992 sculpture Sex, which spelled out its title. The piece sold for £72,000 ($108,000), safely within its £60–80,000 ($90–120,000) estimate.

Many of the names one might expect fared well in the sale, which was headlined, yes, "SEX." Most of the brazen nudes by German Helmut Newton sold briskly at a variety of price points, for instance. The first edition of his 1988 photograph Beverly Hills Hotel, depicting a woman recumbent and spread-legged on a bed, matched its high estimate of £30,000 ($45,000), while one copy of Cyperwoman 3, a 2000 print from an edition of 500, bounded past its £800 ($1,200) high estimate to a respectable £1,313 ($1,960) finish.

Artists less frequently associated with erotica had a tougher time on the block. California drawer Raymond Pettibon saw only one in four of his works sell. His 1999 ink drawing Untitled (As he has done…), which depicts a man cradling one of his body parts, made its low estimate of £3,000 ($4,500), while three other works by the artist, estimated from £3,000 to £10,000 ($4,500–15,000), failed to find buyers.

The solid majority of works were sold in the four-figure realm, with few works offered higher. Jenny Saville and Glen Luchfords Closed Contract #10, 1995–96, was a rare exception, bypassing £25,000 ($37,000) high estimate to a formidable £67,250 ($100,000) finish. Thomas Ruffs Nude ni 20, 2000, estimated £35–45,000 ($52–67,000), fared less well, going unsold — perhaps due to its intensely pornographic subject matter.