Buyers Bounce to Beach, ArtHamptons Flops

The artists are blaming the weather. Despite the fact that we're in a pretty nasty art slump, the optimistic believe that three days of sunshine lured potential art buyers to the beach instead of the ArtHamptons fair in Bridgehampton, Long Island this weekend. Purchases were made, but in general, they were disappointing. Realistically, the sales made sense, given what we've seen at auction over the past year.

Several celebrities did attend the art fair, but they brought little excitement, it seems, beyond their appearances. Jon Bon Jovi, personalities from The Real Housewives of New York City, Kelsey Grammer and Russell Simmons were all spotted, but Bloomberg didn't report any purchases.

The biggest name at the ArtHamptons fair, of course, was Michael Jackson – a creation by Andy Warhol. Originally, Vered Gallery had hoped to sell it via silent auction, but the gallery yanked the portrait late last week ... claiming that collectors were looking at the piece but "needed more time to assess the value."

Or, maybe they were just at the beach, like everyone else, apparently.