Art-Tapped Out?

A $60 million painting by Kazimir Malevich and a $40 million self-portrait by Francis Bacon will be offered for sale at Sotheby's on Monday night along with 71 Impressionist and Modern paintings, drawing sand sculptures, anxiety is the dominant mood, Carol Vogel of the New York Times reports.

Millions of dollars of art went unsold at the major auctions houses in September and October, with many works going for well below their estimates. Minimizing risk is the message of the moment. While Sotheby’s has said that it has provided only half the number of guarantees it did a year ago, the company still has outstanding guarantees of $285.5 million.

The big question is who will be buying this expensive art? With hedge-fund traders, Russian oligarchs and wealthy Middle Easterners having taken a hit in the financial markets, the auction houses, whistling in the dark, are hoping for a return of old money. To read the rest of Carol Vogel's article in the New York Times click HERE.