The sale produced evidence that young artists who rode the big wave of the boom are now getting caught in the break. Mark Grotjahn’s Untitled (Pink Butterfly M02G), 2002, for instance, sold under its low estimate for £180,000 ($259,000). "They were trading at $500,000 to $600,000 not so long ago," says the London collector Edward Lee, who liked the bright pink work but didn’t go after it, concerned about the Grotjahns he already owns. "I don’t know whether it’s better to sit on my hands or sell some works to get some money back."

The to-sell-or-not-to-sell predicament was most evident when auctioneer Simon de Pury put a Jonathan Meese painting that had already passed back on the block. The consignor of The Temptation of the State of the Blessed Ones in Archland, 2003 (est. £150-200,000; $216-288,000), must have had second thoughts about his reserve and let it go this time for £120,000 ($173,000). If such maneuvers become commonplace, auctions could start feeling like the déjà vu flick Groundhog Day.  "Postwar & Contemporary Art" originally appeared in the May 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's May 2009 Table of Contents.