The biggest story coming out of Cowan's auction of fine and decorative arts, held October 12 and 13, 2007, in Cincinnati, Ohio, wasn't what sold. Rather, one unsold lot made the most noise.

      An original painting of The Spirit of '76, Archibald M. Willard's iconic Revolutionary War scene of two drummers and a fife player marching in step, an American flag held high by soldiers behind them, failed to make its reserve. It had been estimated at $500,000/700,000.

      It wasn't for a lack of trying that the piece didn't sell. "We were very aggressive on it," said Diane Wachs, Cowan's specialist in fine and decorative arts. "For whatever reason, the guy or the gal who wanted it wasn't bidding that day. We kind of scratched our heads and don't really know why."

      Institutions weren't bidding either. "The Willard museum had another version of it," she said. That counted them out, and no one else stepped up. "We did not have the institutional interest that we thought. It was perhaps a little rich for their blood," Wachs said.