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#Videocrux - Sotheby's contemporary art sale reveals a troubled art market Sotheby's contemporary art sale reveals a troubled art market
Sales at Tuesday night's contemporary art auction gave some indicators of a troubled art market. The auction house's art sale fell short of expected bid and some didn't get a single bid.
Expected arts and structure didn't get a bid at the auction
Sotheby's contemporary art sale raked in a total of $47 million dollars. A big drop from last years $315 million dollar result. A sculpture by Gober. It was projected to sell for at least two and a half million. But didn't get a single bid.
Gober's sculpture, biggest casaulty of the night
Meyer, "The Gober clearly was a work that was very unique and very rare but for a very specific market. That's why it didn't work at auction as maybe we would have liked it to work." Jeff Koon's sculpture was estimated to sell for $6 to $8 million. It fell short at five and a half. A much smaller price tag compared to last year when the artist took in around $25 million. Dealers say that's because this year is a completely different market than last. Meyer, "We're trying to compare really apples and oranges if you think about it. And any work of art today that sells in the region of how much did we make for the Koon's with premium? $5.4 million dollars. You know that's a very serious amount of money."
Alexander Calder's work sold for $ 3 and a half million
The auction did come to life when a figure by Alexander Calder was up for sale. It was valued at around $1.5 million but sold for much higher. The auction cashed out at $4 million less than expected. Dealers are staying optimistic they say though the market has taken a big hit what's important is that it's still surviving.

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