Click to play videoNew Delhi: As banks go bust and the world's stock markets reel from the crisis credit crunch, Christie's auction house in London hopes to raise more than 57 million pounds at its upcoming art auction.
On Tuesday Christie's unveiled its artworks up for grabs, hailing the collection as the most valuable and comprehensive autumn sale to date.
Lucian Freud which is the last remaining portrait of British artist, Francis Bacon is expected to fetch between 5 and 7 million pounds.
The portrait of Bacon is unfinished (Bacon broke off sitting for Freud to see his boyfriend in Tangiers) and offers a glimpse into the inspirational relationship between the great British artists of the 20th century. It's been in private hands since 1970 and has only been exhibited twice.
Experts say traditionally, art markets do not always follow the economic cycle. Talk of bonus slashing could however prevent high-earning citizens from spending on art, affecting the mid-range art market.
Not all the lots in the Christie's auction are in the multi-million pound bracket. For example Andy Warhol's "Diamond Dust Shoes" is up for between 450,000-750,000 pounds.
It's precisely this mid-range market that experts predict will be the first to be hit by the global financial downturn. High-earning City types, who once were keen to splash their cash on art, will be feeling the pinch with talk of bonuses being slashed all together.
The last major crash of the art market was in the early 1990's several years after the 1987 US stock market crash.
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