It took only about 120 seconds last week for a Monet to exchange hands for a small fortune.

Two minutes later, interest slowed. A deep-pocketed bidder on the phone to the right of Burge had apparently outlasted all others. The room grew quiet.

But could there be cracks in that bridge? Only 44 of the lots sold and Christie's fell short of its low $286 million pre-sale estimate total. Plus, two other works by Monet as well as works by Picasso, van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir and Matisse failed to reach minimum bids.