Luxist

ere's a sign the art market might really be in trouble, famed collector Eli Broad was one of the eager buyers at the contemporary art sale at Sotheby's last night in New York City. He's quoted in Bloomberg as calling it "a half-price sale." Perhaps he was also delighting in being right, he'd been predicting a slowdown for a while now. Broad, along with permatan and permafabulous fashion designer Valentino were two collectors hoping to get good deals on great art. It certainly worked for Broad, he picked up Ed Ruscha's 1969 ``Desire'' for $2.4 million, 40 percent under the $4 million low estimate. He also scooped up several other pieces including a Donald Judd sculpture, a Robert Rauschenberg and a Jeff Koons sculpture, some of which were for his Broad Art Foundation. Broad has also offered millions to help the floundering Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. 22/12/08