NYC Fall Art Auctions Open against Gloomy Backdrop

That fear was also evident in an online auction last week when a 1717 Stradivari cello reached a record bid of $1.35 million but failed to reach its estimated value of $1.48 million to $1.97 million — or its reserve, according to Tarisio, auctioneers of fine stringed instruments and bows. The reserve is the lowest undisclosed price the consignor agrees to sell a work.

Sotheby's and Christie's said Monday they were cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the impressionist and modern art sale this week, and postwar and contemporary art sale next week.

"The result will speak to market expectations," said Guy Bennett, international co-head of impressionist and modern art at Christie's.

"It won't just be about one sale, the market is far deeper and broader than that," he said. "I think we found the right balance in terms of price points and also the quality of the things we're offering."

The Fulds reportedly are selling a group of abstract and minimalist drawings at Christie's on Nov. 12. The highlight of the 16 "Master Drawings of American Post War Art From a Private Collection" is a 1951 Willem de Kooning drawing of a nude called "Woman," estimated at $4 million.

Another important indicator in the art-auction market is the number of guarantees by the auction houses. A guarantee is the undisclosed sum sellers are promised regardless of whether the work sells or not. To offset risk that some works would not sell in the current financial climate, Sotheby's has cut guarantees from $458.5 million last year to $306.1 million this year.

Christie's has guaranteed six out of 85 works in its impressionist and modern art sale on Wednesday, compared to the spring when it guaranteed 16 out of 58 works from the same period.

"The things that we have chosen to guarantee this season, we feel very comfortable with. We feel we made the right decision and we'll see how the market reacts," Bennett said.

To hedge against risk, Sotheby's has lined up a buyer for Malevich's "Suprematist Composition" who had placed an "irrevocable bid" on the abstract painting. If the painting goes higher than the agreed-on price, which was not disclosed, then the bidder with the "irrevocable bid" will be compensated according to prior arrangements. The painting was recently returned to the artist's descendants following a court battle and after residing for many years in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Despite the troubles in the market, as recently as last month the glimmer of the art market's strength was evident when works by Damien Hirst sold for $200 million at Sotheby's in London.

Sotheby's CEO William Ruprecht, in an interview last month, said "there's no question" that some buyers are not willing to pay as much as before. "But there's also no question that there's an awful lot of interest in important works of art," he said.

"The worst situation in the upcoming auctions would be for people to lose confidence in art as an asset, or its perceived liquidity," Peck said.

Among the other works coming up this week and next are "Untitled (Boxer), a 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat painting owned by Lars Ulrich of the heavy-metal band Metallica. Christie's expects it to fetch more than $12 million at the Nov. 12 sale, but feels it could surpass the current Basquiat record of $14.6 million.

Edvard Munch's "Vampire," a brooding painting of a woman with cascading auburn hair offered by Sotheby's on Monday, could set a new record for the Norwegian artist if it sells for an estimated $35 million.