"An economic chill blew through the art world yesterday when a rare painting of Francis Bacon by Lucian Freud sold for £1.6 million less than expected. The unfinished portrait, one of only two Freud painted of his friend and fellow artist, was predicted to go for at least £7 million at the auction at Christie's last night. The only other painting by Freud of Bacon was stolen in Berlin in 1988, making the one sold yesterday even more desirable.
But in a sign of the frail financial climate, the sale netted only £5.4 million, perilously close to the auction house's low estimate of £5 million. In contrast, Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sold for £17.2 million in May, the highest price paid in an auction for a work by a living artist. The poor sale is likely to be seen as the canary in the coalmine in the art world - a clear warning that the market may be about to blow."
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