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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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Sotheby's Sale Busts, Picasso Goes Unsold

$61.3M result fails to reach low estimate

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(Newser) – The art market failed to recover from its recent slump last night, as Sotheby's held a disappointing New York sale that saw works by Picasso and Giacometti go unsold. The small auction of 36 lots brought in just $61.3 million—well below the low estimate of $81.5 million. But a black-and-white grid painting by Piet Mondrian beat expectations, selling for three times its low estimate at $9.2 million.

The mood inside the saleroom in Manhattan was more sober than in previous years, the Wall Street Journal reports, with celebrities staying away and seats in the front row remaining empty. Works by Impressionists such as Monet and Renoir found buyers, although all of them went for under $5 million. Sotheby's rival Christie's holds its own sale tonight.

'Composition in Black and White, With Double Lines' by Piet Mondrian was the top lot at last night's sale at Sotheby's in New York, going for $9,266,500.
'Composition in Black and White, With Double Lines' by Piet Mondrian was the top lot at last night's sale at Sotheby's in New York, going for $9,266,500.   (AP Photo/Sotheby's)
A bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, 'Le Chat,' failed to find a buyer during Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, Tuesday, May 5, 2009.
A bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, 'Le Chat,' failed to find a buyer during Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, Tuesday, May 5, 2009.   (AP Photo/Sotheby%u2019s New York)
This 1938 painting by Pablo Picasso, depicting the artist's daughter Maya, was estimated to sell for between $16 million and $24 million, but failed to find a buyer.
This 1938 painting by Pablo Picasso, depicting the artist's daughter Maya, was estimated to sell for between $16 million and $24 million, but failed to find a buyer.   (AP Photo/Sotheby%u2019s New York)
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TerrifiedCitizen
May 6, 09 9:24 AM CDT
Opulent times are too good to trend or fashion art. Reply
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serfinWI
May 6, 09 12:14 PM CDT
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