Top lots go unsold at New York's Impressionist and modern sales proving a discerning but 'not doomsday' market
Monet carries Christie's evening sale while a Magritte shines at Sotheby's, marking an auction record for the Surrealist painter
NANCY KENNEY and MARGARET CARRIGAN
13th November 2018 21:49 GMTMORE
René Magritte's Le principe du plaisir (1937) brought in $23.5m ($26.8m with fees), well over its high estimate of $20m Sotheby's
Sotheby's fell on the same sword as Christie's when it came to pricing major lots at its Impressionist and modern evening sale in New York on Monday night (12 November). Both auction houses aggressively priced their top lots this year—and both felt the sting of a stern market rebuff.