Colin Gleadell does the math on the New York sales to reveal that the much ballyhooed imbalance toward Contemporary art has actually swung back toward even. Gleadell points to Christie’s renewed efforts to find Modern trophies through its special Monday sales. Others suggest the real story is a cooling at the top of the Contemporary market caused as much by a lack of supply as reduced demand:
pre-sale estimates for Impressionist and Modern art at $1.042 billion; only $84 million dollars behind contemporary art estimates at $1.126 billion.
Market News: the modern art comeback (Telegraph)