As a Christie's spokesperson admited in an article in "American Libraries", the spurious lawsuits may well have adversely affected the sale price. The Audubon market was, after all, more active two years ago.

It is speculative enough trying to figure out why buyers pay what they will, let alone why other potential buyers won't.

The Birds might well have done better two years back; even if they had fetched no more, that would have meant a two-year lead on stemming the drain on the endowment -- no small matter.

My guess is that the lawsuit's main effect on the sale price was in the delay it caused, rather than dissuading potential bidders. Serious questions about how a work comes to market can dampen buyer enthusiasm, to be sure (and this may well have been the case with the recent NYPL sale), but I don't this was the case with the Audubons. Prominent public monuments sold off in haste are one thing; this was more like an ordinary house (however grand) sold against the background of a nasty divorce.