SALES SLUMP

After booming sales earlier this year, Australia’s art market is showing signs of cooling off. At this week’s major auctions, buyers were cautious and even important works attracted scant interest – due in part to the recent imposition of a countrywide GST. “Instead of the frenetic bidding that had turned the big art sales of the past into gladiatorial contests, the salesroom at Christie’s was as quiet as a picnic.” – Sydney Morning Herald