Christie's' impressionist and modern art sales fail to make big splash

The spring art sales ended with a bit of a whimper in New York on Thursday with Christie's' muted auction of impressionist and modern art.

The sales took in $141.4 million against a pre-sale estimate of $134 million to $197 million for the 51 lots on offer. All but seven found buyers.

Christie's officials declared themselves pleased with the result, saying they had tailored the sale to the tastes of the current market and that bidding from across the globe, particularly Asia, helped drive bidding.