The Death of the Global Art Market

It’s come to this for the global art market. Tonight, Lucian Freud’s portrait of Francis Bacon goes up for auction at Christie’s. The house hopes it brings 7 million pounds, but if it falls short, it will portend bad tidings for the global art market –and mean “the global financial crisis is affecting even the super-rich.” Freud’s moment of truth follows slow sales at the Frieze Art Fair last week, and a disappointing Warhol auction at Sotheby’s. The Independent notes that it was earlier this year—aka happier times—when a Russian oligarch slapped down 17.2 million pounds for Freud’s “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping.”