Australian masterpieces a flop at Christie's auction house The sale of Australian art at Christie's Auction House in London. LONG lost Australian masterpieces not seen in public for more than a generation have stunned the art world by failing to sell at Christie's auction in London tonight. The extraordinary auction of works by some of the best known and loved Australian artists including Russell Drysdale, Frederick McCubbin, Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Jeffrey Smart and John Glover went on auction tonight but many failed to make close to reserves. There were about 60 registered bidders in the room and on the phone from Australia and some smaller works attracted above reserve bids but headline works including McCubbin's famous Bush Idyll - which when last on the market in 1989 set an Australian art record at $2.3 million - was past in with house bid at $1.88 million, well below estimated sale range. Another three McCubbins including a landscape of the Maribyrnong River also failed to sell. Drysdale's great portrait Old Larsen last seen at auction in 1971 was billed as one of the most eagerly anticipated lots but with bids at $770,000 it was passed in, more than $100,000 below the lower estimated sale range. It was expected to sell for more than $1 million. Charles Blackman works also failed to sell as well as several Nolans, a Tom Roberts, two by Charles Conder and others by Arthur Boyd. Even a Norman Lindsay self-portrait failed to make reserve. Art affecionados in the room were surprised by the number of "great works" passed in, some suggesting the effects of the financial crisis lingered. The sale of the Australian masters was conservitevely estimated to attract more than $10 million but failed to make even half that. One of the headline works by colonial artist John Glover of a Tasmanian landscape did sell, bids began at $1.8 million before racing quickly to a sale price of $2.6 million. It was the first time the masterpiece has come onto the market since Glover's own selling exhibition in London in 1835. It had been housed at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh for the past 20 years. A landscape post a 1968 bushfire by Fred Williams, entitled Lysterfield, was a big seller with numerous bids till it reached sale price of $1.2 million. Director of the Australian art department at Christie's in London Nick Lambourn said the 75 lots were sourced exclusively from UK, European and American collections and many of the works had not been seen for a generation or more. Mr Lambourn said the Glover sale was a world record auction price for the artist, the last record being $1.7 million several years ago and he was pleased with the Williams" sale, but overall the auction was a "bit hit and miss." "Equally there were disappointments the Drysdale and the monumental piece by Frederick McCubbin not selling this time around," he said. I think it's a case of taste shifting year to year from artist to artist, Drysdale and Blackman who was well represented here today failed to fire but may have fired well a couple of years ago. Subtle changes in taste ... Always difficult to predict what is going to happen to the Australian market. Mr Lambourn said on a brighter note, some great masterpiece works would clearly be returning home to Australia. The nice thing about these sales of Australian art is we are pretty much repatriating lost masterpieces to Australia and that's nice; some of these paintings have not been seen in a generation such as the Glover and the Fred Williams piece have not been seen since it was bought by Leopold de Rothschild in 1972 so it's lovely that's probably going to go home. So that's a nice aspect of the sale, digging out nice pictures and sending them back to where they are appreciated.