Very true Lee3. I think many people looking to sell in the foreseeable future will have quite firm ideas of what their prints/pieces are worth and although they might have reached those expectations last year I doubt they will now.

who's going to Bonhams ?

the main question is, who is going to bid, and who is going to watch?

good stuff, and good luck with what you are bidding for, another london event that i cant make it to but im sure ill catch u the end of november wizbong

I am bidding full throttle.
I have parted company with a lot of my original collection and now I am heading for the hot stuff that will adorn my walls for years to come from generation to generation. Or till my children or grandchildren look at it and say "what the f$ck was the old bastard thinking!?"

Hahaha, They will too!.

There has been a shortage of good pieces at the mid to high end because while prices rose people hung onto art. With these results some people will decide that now is the time to sell. I think it will take a couple more mediocre auction results before there is serious movement but if you have the cash things just got interesting.

uk.reuters.com/article/stageNews/idUKTRE5460MR20090507

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Impressionist and modern art sold well at Christie's on Wednesday at an auction that met expectations and provided a measure of relief to a tense art market battered by the global financial crisis.

That relief was palpable when applause broke out in Christie's salesroom after the hammer fell on the final lot of the sale, which took in nearly $103 million, safely above the low pre-sale estimate of $88 million.

Officials at both Christie's and rival Sotheby's have said convincing collectors to sell when art prices are falling was especially difficult, resulting in the season's vastly scaled-down auctions.

But Christie's did what it set out to do, selling 80 percent of the 48 lots on offer, including Picasso's "Musketeer with pipe," a 1968 oil on canvas that fetched $14,642,500, or right in the middle of its pre-sale estimate range.

Officials said the work had sold for $7.3 million in 2004, a sign that prices are holding up when the right work is offered.

"It was a remarkable result for this material at this time," said Christie's honorary chairman Christopher Burge, who also served as auctioneer.

"We were honestly quite surprised by the depth of the competition," Burge added, citing strong prices for Impressionist as well as 20th-century works at all price levels.

Works by Monet, Renoir and Pissarro sold well at Sotheby's on Tuesday, but the top lots, a Picasso and a Giacometti, went unsold leaving the total well short of its estimate.

Christie's president Marc Porter said new bidders were especially encouraging.

"We saw a lot of new buyers tonight who were ready to compete for things," he told Reuters. The bidding process helped drive prices higher than those of recent private sales, he said.

Buyers were about evenly divided between Americans and Europeans, with Asian clients accounting for more than usual.

Highlights included Giacometti's "Bust of Diego," a bronze that sold for $7.7 million, beating its high estimate, and Degas' "Apres le bain, femme s'essuyant," which went for $5.9 million, just under the high estimate.

Works by Tamara de Lempicka sold well for the second consecutive night, with "Portrait of Madame M." selling for $6.13 million, breaking the artist's auction record set on Tuesday.

The auctions continue next week with sales of contemporary and post-war art, a market segment that has witnessed the greatest price spikes in the past decade and which could be especially vulnerable.

I love the Gottlieb "Flat Black" and I showed my wife the Dubuffet yesterday which has a teaser estimate @ 6k. I've been after a Dubuffet for longer than I care to remember. She correctly pointed out that while nice, it's just a Dubuffet for the sake of owning one, let's wait for a colorful hourloupe figure that we both love as he was quite prolific. She is smarter than I am. Not going or bidding. This is an odd month and back when the art market was more normal (which it probably is now) one didn't put anything nice in the September sales. I'm surprised to see a 22 inch Flower painting in this for that very reason but they probably told the consignor that they would be the standout piece and the cover and convinced them to include it. That's another low estimate imo.

Also noticed a Laugh Now at Bonham's in septemeber too. I believe they did away with their fall urban art sale unless I've got my dates all screwed up.

Ooops an orignal Laugh Now! I doubt i will ever save enough for one of those beauties!

LOT 271, SALE 5867, LONDON, SOUTH KENSINGTON
Nick Walker (b. 169)
Vandal Airways

ESTIMATE
£700 - £900
($1,132 - $1,455)

13000 usd for the legendary rude copper prints. Not a bad price.

Looks like the CWSB failed to hit reserve

The CWSB was Caspartheghosts wasnt it?. What would have been ballpark for the Rudecopper before this sale?.

suprised that the CWSB didn't hit reserve
Did it have a PC COA?