No Sale For Pricey Van Gogh

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Nov 11th 2007 at 8:07PM

Usually Van Gogh is a hot seller at auctions by the big auction houses, setting astronomical sale prices. That wasn't the case at the Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern art sale recently for this painting. Van Gogh's 'The Fields (Wheat Fields)' was estimated to bring in between $28 million and $35 million. During the auction , bidding stalled out at $25 million and the painting did not sell.

The non-sale had a big impact on Sotheby's stock. In the days after the sale, shares of Sotheby's stock fell 28% yesterday based partly on fears that the action house is spending too much on money guarantees promised to sellers whether or not their art sells. Because the Van Gogh that didn't sell was guaranteed, Sotheby's now owns the painting. In these situations Sotheby's often then sells the painting privately to a dealer or collector.

Tags: auction, van gogh, wheat fields