Sotheby's stock takes hit, art boom over?

By Karyn Chenoweth Nov 8, 2007, 17:11 GMT

picture of the painting \'The Fields (Wheat Fields)\' by Vincent Van Gogh which is being sold during the \'Impressionist and Modern Art\' auction at Sotheby\'s in New York, New York, USA, on 07 November 2007. The painting is estimated to sell for 28,000,000 US dollars - 35,000,000 US dollars. EPA/SOTHEBYS / HO EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Sotheby's stock fell as much as 38 percent yesterday as three analysts downgraded the stock after an impressionist sale in New York showed the boom in the art market has cooled down.

Shares of the world's second-largest art seller declined as much as $18.87 to $31.20 and were trading at $31.39 at 9:44 a.m. in New York. Last night's auction took in $269.7 million, a third short of its low estimate of $401 million with commissions, reports Bloomberg.

In May, Sotheby's $278.5 million total for impressionist art was in the middle of the range and almost all the art sold. Last night, a quarter of the items didn't sell.

Sotheby's went into the impressionist sale with risks, after promising sellers fixed prices for works by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and other artists, whether the pictures sold or not.

Of 26 lots guaranteed, five didn't sell and 10 sold below Sotheby's estimated range, according to Bloomberg.

Van Gogh's "The Fields (Wheat Fields)"  received no bids and didn't sell.

Georges Braque's "L'Echo,'' also failed to sell and carried a guarantee.

Bloomberg reports that "the high level of contemporary art guarantees may be especially risky, as buyers have lately discounted high-priced Western artists. A Bacon painting scraped above its low estimate and two Andy Warhols failed to sell at Christie's last month in London, while China's Yue Minjun overtook America's Rothko on Sotheby's list of top lots."

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