Art
Francis Bacon Painting Offered for $78 Million Fails to Sell
- Trophy painting at Christie’s London auction lures no takers
- Evening auction ends with gasps rather than applause
A trophy painting by Francis Bacon failed to draw any bids at Christie’s in London after being offered at auction for 60 million pounds
($78 million).
The unexpected outcome for the star lot of Christie’s evening sale of postwar and contemporary art on Friday drew a collective gasp in the sale room. The auctioneer began soliciting bids at 50 million pounds and continued up to 58 million pounds. None came.