Collector of Florida sued the auction house Christie's, who was unable to sell him a picture of Francis Bacon «Etude to self»

Collector of Florida, George Weiss (George Weiss) sued the auction house Christie's, who was unable to sell him a picture of Francis Bacon (Francis Bacon) 1964, «Etude to self».

At tender pieces of postwar and contemporary art, held on 12 November in New York , this work is estimated at 40-60 million dollars, and did not find a buyer. Weiss contacted the New York court with a statement of the claim for breach of contract, alleging that Christie's that he did not pay him a guaranteed minimum price of this product.

According to the suit Weiss in July 2008, and Christie's, and his main rival Sotheby's offered to sell him «Self» Bacon at its auctions. In September, when Weiss did decided to use the services of Christie's, he was told that could not meet the conditions under warranty due to «the changed situation on the art market».

«For many years the leading auction houses including Christie's and Sotheby's, offered the sellers a specified minimum fixed price for selected works to bring to market the most significant works - Weiss writes in his statement. - Christie's also broke its promise regarding the payment of minimum guaranteed value ».

Official comments from the representatives of Christie's in this regard has yet been received.

material produced Catherine Onuchin

Sources: bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru