In a sale that was more steady than spectacular, Sotheby’s saw broad participation and sturdy results at its May 20 auction of American art. Top honors went to Georgia O’Keeffe’s 1927 oil “White Calla Lily,” which sold under estimate to an anonymous phone bidder for $8,986,000. Traditional landscape views by Martin Johnson Heade and Thomas Moran garnered $970,000 and $910,000, while midcentury works by Milton Avery fetched $3.37million for “Spring in Vermont” and $1.45 million for “Beach House.” It was another strong showing for illustrators, with Norman Rockwell’s “The Bookworm” going for $3.83 million and Maxfield Parrish’s “Two Cooks and a Haggis” reaping $1.57 million.

“White Calla Lily” by Georgia O’Keeffe, $8,986,000

“The Bookworm” by Norman Rockwell, $3,834,000

“Spring in Vermont” by Milton Avery, $3,370,000