"Untitled (Boxer)" by Jean-Michel Basquiat, an acrylic and oil paintstick on linen painting from 1982

A Christie's International auction of contemporary art tonight in New York failed to find buyers for almost a third of its works, including the projected top lot by British star Francis Bacon.

The 75-lot sale totaled $113.6 million, half the presale low estimate of $227 million. The auction followed Sotheby's $125.1 million contemporary art sale last night and, like that event, was able to sell only 68 percent of the works.

``No one's going to do silly spending in this market,'' art adviser Allan Schwartzman said. ``If they are flush with cash, they don't want to look like the fool that got carried away.''

Bacon's 1964 ``Study for Self-Portrait'' was estimated to fetch $40 million to $60 million. The artist depicts himself seated on a bed, contorted and paint-splattered.

Emblematic of Wall Street's changing fortunes, a collection of 16 drawings sold by former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard S. Fuld Jr. and his wife, Kathy, brought in $13.5 million. Its low estimate was $15 million.

Early this year, Christie's gave the Fulds a guarantee for the collection, promising them an undisclosed sum regardless of the outcome of the sale.

Demand for top-tier abstract expressionist drawings is thin, and with longtime buyer Kathy Fuld out of the running, there was skepticism among dealers about the fate of the goods.

Prices include a buyer's premium, or commission, of 25 percent of the hammer price up to $50,000, 20 percent of the price from $50,000 to $1 million and 12 percent above $1 million. Estimates do not reflect commissions.