Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Andy Warhol, Lucio Fontana and Lucian Freud works that sold in three days of London contemporary-art auctions were not enough to raise the weekend total much above a half of presale estimates as dealers and collectors delayed purchases in the worst financial crisis since the Depression.

Sales by Sotheby's, Christie's International and Phillips de Pury & Co made a combined 59 million pounds ($102 million), against minimum estimates of 106.2 million pounds, according to Bloomberg calculations. They follow a five-day auction by Sotheby's in Hong Kong this month that raised HK$1.1 billion ($141.7 million), also about half the presale estimate, as buyers shunned some top lots for being too expensive.

``These are old prices,'' said New York dealer Alberto Mugrabi, whose family owns one of the largest Warhol collections, explaining why he let one Warhol work pass at Christie's last night. ``They would have to be readjusted. It can't be readjusted for every industry in the world and not for the art market.''

The auctions, coinciding with the Frieze Art Fair, were the first test of the market since governments bailed out more banks and stock markets crashed. Dealers were watching for clues on what will happen at New York sales in November. The contemporary-art market has enjoyed a bull run for the past five years, with prices for artists including Warhol, Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince more than quadrupling.

Hushed Crowd

The weekend ended with a Christie's evening sale that included works by Francis Bacon, Fontana and Freud. Christie's failed to sell 45 percent of the 47 lots on offer. There was a hush in a crowded room as auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen knocked down the lots in less than an hour.

``It was bad, but it wasn't terrible,'' said Mugrabi.

Pylkkanen looked to Mugrabi for a bid when he offered Warhol's ``Nine Multicolored Marilyns'' from the ``Reversal'' series, estimated to fetch at least 2.2 million pounds. Mugrabi offered 1.85 million pounds and declined to go up to 1.9 million. The bid didn't meet the reserve level and the artwork was bought in by the London-based auction house.

The Warhol was one of six lots on which Christie's had promised sellers a minimum price regardless of the outcome. Three of these failed to sell, including Bacon's ``Portrait of Henrietta Moraes'' (1969). The yellow canvas flopped against a presale low estimate of 5.5 million pounds. These failed guaranteed lots were expected to fetch at least 7.95 million pounds.

Reserves Watched

``Things have been overpriced; they need to come down,'' said Glenn Scott-Wright, director at London's Victoria Miro gallery, who attended the sale. ``If Christie's had dropped the reserves by 20 percent, it would have done better.''

Last night's top seller was Fontana's black egg-shaped, glitter-dusted canvas ``Concetto Spaziale, La Fine di Dio'' (1963), which fetched 9 million pounds against the presale estimate of about 12 million pounds. Before the auction, Christie's announced that persons with a financial interest in the guaranteed work would be bidding. There was no demand in the room and the auctioneer provided the sole bid.

London dealer Stephen Ongpin, bidding for a collector, bought the evening's other high-value lot, Freud's 1956-57 unfinished portrait of Bacon. He paid 5.4 million pounds for the life-size face of the artist, against the presale low estimate of 5 million pounds.

As on the previous two nights, works by artists whose prices have risen rapidly in the last five years didn't attract support. At Christies, pieces in the range of 500,000 pounds to 900,000 pounds by Warhol, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ed Ruscha were deemed too expensive.

Unsold Richter

German artist Gerhard Richter didn't fare much better. Two of his abstract canvases, estimated in the region of 6 million pounds and 2 million pounds, didn't sell.

``Obviously we need to adjust our prices,'' said Ed Dolman, Christie's chief executive officer. `There isn't too much confidence out there.''

Christie's auction took 32 million pounds with fees, below the presale low estimate of 57 million pounds.

Sotheby's 62-lot sale on Oct. 17 fetched 22 million pounds with fees. Sotheby's had estimated that it would raise a total of between 30.6 million pounds and 42.8 million pounds.

Phillips de Pury's 70-lot sale on Oct. 18 fetched 5 million pounds with fees, against a lower estimate of 18.6 million pounds. Forty-six percent of the Phillips lots failed to find buyers, including works by Murakami and Prince.

Sotheby's shares dropped 21 cents, or 1.97 percent, to $10.44 in New York on Oct. 17. The stock is down 72.6 percent this year.

A survey of U.K. valuers said the Damien Hirst auction last month may have marked the top of the art market.

``It's a turning point,'' said Nicolai Frahm, a London-based art adviser, at the Phillips sale. ``The estimates were fairly high and the financial markets are so tough at the moment.''

(Scott Reyburn and Katya Kazakina are reporters for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are their own.)

To contact the writers on the story: Katya Kazakina in London at kkazakina@bloomberg.net; Scott Reyburn in London at sreyburn@hotmail.com.

Last Updated: October 19, 2008 19:46 EDT