London, Nov 14 : A painting of a boxer by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which was owned by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, has fetched 13.5 million dollars at an auction.

On the other hand, a Francis Bacon painting failed to sell, fuelling fears over the state of the art market.

The painting by Basquiat was a highlight of Christie''s contemporary art auction in New York.

Though, Bacon''s Study for Self Portrait was billed as a highlight of the auction, and was expected to fetch 40 million dollars, the bidding stalled at 27.4million dollars and the auction was halted.

A total of 75 contemporary works went under the hammer at the sale on Wednesday evening, but almost a third failed to attract a buyer.