Not surprisingly, lower-priced pieces were doing well. Chicago’s Western Exhibitions gallery, a first-time exhibitor, made an early sale of a book of self-portrait silhouettes by husband-and-husband duo Dutes Miller and Stan Shellabarger, priced at $5,000. As the sale took place, the artists were sitting nearby doing a performance in which they crochet a long pink scarf between them.

Despite these sales, many dealers seemed to be taking a slightly wary long view, and many of them stressed that they were doing curatorially motivated displays — putting on good shows to get their artists noticed, in other words, even if they weren’t going to sell much. New York gallery Zieher Smith’s booth was dominated by a single piece, a kinetic sculpture by Mike Womack entitled Metronome. The work mimics, as Scott Zieher puts it, “an old mechanical TV,” using mirrors mounted on a metal helix that spins and reflects light. Zieher reported it has had interest from several collectors, at $65,000.

“Collectors are more cautious,” he said. “It seems like people may be giving themselves a budget. But we dealers are optimistic. We’re keeping a stiff upper lip.”

Sarah Douglas is Staff Writer at Art+Auction. She blogs at "The Appraisal."