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.”
Read it at The Independent
