At the Fall’s First Major Auctions, Buyers Spent Carefully but Competed for the Right Works

The first sales of the fall auction season offered some encouraging signs for an art market that has spent the last few years searching for them. Buyers were willing to spend, sometimes well beyond expectations. But they were picky on which works they spent their money.Across recent sales at Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s in New York, bidders chased down established artists, recognizable bodies of work, and lots carrying estimates that left some room to run, with records and bid