Hedge Fund Favorites Down, But Some Sales Still Strong

Published: October 16, 2007

Damien Hirst Francis Bacon Jean-Michel Basquiat Matthew Barney Martin Kippenberger Giorgio Morandi Banksy Alberto Burri

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LONDON—Prices for hedge-funder favorites Damien Hirst, Martin Kippenberger, Francis Bacon, and Jean-Michel Basquiat were down during this year’s contemporary art sales timed to coincide with the Frieze Art Fair, but sales for other artists were strong, reports Bloomberg.

Graffiti works by Banksy and lower-priced Western art by Gerhard Richter, Matthew Barney, and Italian artists Giorgio Morandi and Alberto Burri sold at or above estimates at Sotheby’s yesterday.

Insecurity in financial markets is causing buyers to reconsider blue-chip purchases. “It's one thing buying a painting for 50,000 pounds,'' said London-based dealer Carlo Berardi. “It's another thing paying 2 million pounds.”