The fever has broken, not that $195,750 is a bad price for a young artist, but Christie’s Oscar Murillo made less than last week’s price (and nearly the exact same price yesterday) today during the First Open sale.

It can’t be a good thing when an artist’s work sells for more than 2. 5 times the high estimate and the result comes off as a bit of a disappointment. Following last week’s surging $400k sale for a Murillo, today’s work at Sotheby’s made just shy of half that amount. Works of art are hardly commensurate in quality, value or importance but the Sotheby’s lot was not considered less desirable that what sold at Phillips. Tomorrow’s sale at at Christie’s will show whether the artist can go 2 for 3.

 

The first—and lowest estimated—Murillo on offer during this coming week’s string of Contemporary mid-season sales just made a record $401,000 at Phillips.