Rothko and Manet fail to sell as art hits a prices wall

MARK ROTHKO may be the star of the show at Tate Modern in London, but a key work by the artist failed to fetch its $20 million-plus asking price at Christie's in New York as the economic downturn hits the art market.

Rothko's characteristic No 43 (Mauve) which was expected to sell for between $20 million (£12.6 million) and $30 million (£18.9 million) was one of a number of works which either failed to meet their reserves or went for prices much lower than expected.

The artist's current show at the Tate, which brings together all his Seagram murals for the first time, is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed exhibitions this autumn.

As the art world kicks off its autumn sales season, auction houses have been trying to persuade sellers to lower their expectations as traditional buyers such as hedge fund traders and financiers suffer in the economic crisis.

Another key work which failed to sell in New York was Manet's Fillette sur un banc, estimated at between £7.5 million and £11.3 million. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's Portrait de Henri Nocq, sold for $4.5 million (£2.8 million) which was significantly below its estimate of up to $8 million.

The total sale at Christie's was $47 million - less than half its estimate of $102 million with less than three-quarters of the 58 lots sold. The poor sale follows disappointment for Sotheby's at a sale of impressionist and modern art on Monday.

"The concept of a recession in the art market is not abstract but real," Ian Peck, chief executive officer of the art finance firm Art Capital Group, said this week. "Prices in all categories - the trophies, the great, and the merely very good - were less contested, if at all, and end prices were likely reduced by 20 to 40 per cent."

Many estimates for paintings being auctioned this week were agreed in the summer, when the financial markets were still strong. "Without a doubt, we will be calling consignors on some of the lots and discussing the interest level in them," said Guy Bennett, Christie's international co-head of impressionist and modern art.