Art Basel enjoys 'steady hum of business' at its 47th edition

New York

THE rain and falling stock markets failed to spoil collectors' shopping mood during the opening hours of Art Basel, the world's biggest modern and contemporary art fair, on Tuesday in Switzerland.

Jet-setters and billionaires waited in long lines underneath umbrellas to get the dibs on the paintings and sculptures offered by 286 galleries at the cavernous convention centre in Basel.

Works priced at US$500,000 or less sold briskly; while more expensive pieces, including billionaire Steven Cohen's US$20 million Gerhard Richter painting, lingered. Dealers were happy to give reasonable discounts - about 10 per cent, adv…