held in London yesterday evening contemporary art auction Sotheby's, which can be called "moderately successful". The auction, which was attended by 53 lots, brought 41.1 million pounds (62 million dollars) at the bottom Estima 38.3 million pounds. To the new owners have gone 83 per cent of the work.

In the first three lots were works of postwar classics - Yves Klein (Yves Klein), Lucio Fontana (Lucio Fontana) and Gerhard Richter (Gerhard Richter). All they have brought the amount within the estimate. As said, Düsseldorf art consultant Jorg-Michael Bertts (Jorg-Michael Bertz), preliminary estimates of the works have been given excessive: after successful "Art Basel» the market too much ardor. A caution now, must not be forgotten: due to turbulence in the global economy, the mood of buyers with big purses may be in jeopardy - that's last week at Christie's did not sell the 30 millionth "Water-Lilies" Monet. Another reason - a surplus of things Klein and fountains at auctions. "All of them are already tired," - says Bertts. Nevertheless, it is the heroes of the 1960's auction houses are now making major bets: prices for works of our contemporaries have suffered in the crisis stronger. Creativity some fashionable artists fallen in price by as much as 50 percent.

Blue relief with sponges «RE49», executed Klein in 1961, went for 6.2 million pounds (hereinafter all prices are taking into account Buyer's Premium. - AI .) when assessing 4,5-6,5 million. The work came from the collection of German bank HVB, in a group UniCredit. At the February auctions in London, collectors have bought works of Klein 16 million. Perforated picture of Fountains "The End of God", in the shape of eggs, was sold for 4.7 million. The previous time she was seen at auction in February 2001, when she brought 466,000 pounds. As far as Gerhard Richter, then for his work in 1964 Neger (Nuba) have posted 3.7 million. The previous owner paid for the picture of 299,000 pounds (in 1995).

Those who exhibited works, recently sold to the public bidding, was less lucky. Beautiful mountain landscape by Peter Doig (Peter Doig) called White Creep (1995-1996) received a lower estimeyt 1.4 million - for many it acquired in February 2008. Yesterday, the buyer found no canvas. A "nurse-millionaire" (2002) Richard Prince (Richard Prince) was sold for 2.2 million pounds during that two years ago, for it managed to rescue the 4.7 million dollars.

record amount brought sculpture the dying elephant in full-length, made Bharti Kher (Bharti Kher). This well-known work ("The skin does not speak their language", 2006) went for 993,000 pounds in assessing 0,7-1 million. There are three variants of sculpture, one of which belongs to the famous British collector Frank Cohen (Frank Cohen).

noted that the average price of lots sold yesterday amounted to 933,900 pounds. This is much better than on similar auctions in the past year: while the work takes an average of 690,000. That auction brought a total 25.5 million pounds (40 lots).

material prepared Yulia Maksimova, AI

Source: bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru