A Francis Bacon
painting that the artist donated to an art college in
lieu of rent decades ago has sold for $16.4 million at an
auction where solid but unspectacular results suggest
global financial turmoil may be unsettling the art
market.
Study From the Human Body, Man Turning On the
Light was bought late Sunday by an anonymous bidder at
Christie's auction house. The painting was given by
Bacon to the Royal College of Art in 1969 as payment
for renting a studio, and the college sold it Sunday
to fund a new campus in south London.
This month's
London auctions are being closely watched for signs that
after several years of rising prices, the red-hot art market
may be cooling.
The price paid
for the Bacon painting, which includes a buyer's premium,
was in the middle of Christie's presale estimate of $14
million to $18 million.
Fine-art insurer
Hiscox says the value of contemporary art sold at
auction rose by 55% during the first six months of the year.
But many fear the weak dollar and fallout from the
sub-prime mortgage crisis will hit prices.
The total for the
Christie's sale was $80.6 million, nearly double the
total for the same sale last year. But 15% of the artwork
went unsold.
Several
high-profile lots underperformed, with works by Andy Warhol
and Jean-Michel Basquiat failing to sell and several
Damien Hirsts going for below their presale estimates.
It was a similar
story at Sotheby's on Friday, when a Hirst polka-dot
painting valued at up to $5.1 million went unsold.
Charles Dupplin,
head of the art division at Hiscox, said any art market
slowdown would show itself first in a fall in sales rather
than prices.
''You won't see
immediate price falls,'' he said. ''You just won't see
the buyers.''
Pilar Ordovas,
Christie's head of postwar and contemporary art, said the
results showed ''confidence in the international art market,
notably the postwar and contemporary art segment, with
strong prices achieved for top quality and sensibly
estimated works.''
In contrast to
the lackluster performance of some famous Western names,
the weekend's sales saw booming prices for contemporary
Chinese art.
Christie's sold
10 Chinese works for a total of $10.6 million, including
Zeng Fanzhi's Mask Series 1999, No. 5, which
fetched $1.63 million, more than four times its presale
estimate.
On Friday at
Sotheby's, Yue Minjun's Execution sold to a
telephone bidder for $5.9 million including buyer's premium,
a record for a Chinese contemporary artist. (AP)