Photography

Man Ray Makes a $3m Record in Paris

November 9, 2017 by Marion Maneker

Man Ray’s photograph Noir et Blanche, 1926 sold for nearly twice the high estimate today breaking through the $3m barrier.

Christie’s France is pleased with the total realised for Thomas Koerfer’s private collection of photographs with €3,782,500/£3,328,600/$4,387,700. The highly anticipated masterpiece by Man Ray was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder after a long bidding battle between 4 clients on the phone and 3 clients present in the room. This photograph, formerly in the collection of Jacques Doucet, portraying Kiki de Montparnasse, Man Ray’s muse and lover of was sold €2,688,750/$3,120,658, establishing a new auction record for a photograph by Man Ray,for any photograph sold in France and established a new world auction record for any classic photograph

Phillips NY Photography = $8.35m

April 14, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Diane Arbus, Identical Twins Roselle, NJ ($180-220k) $602,500

Edward Steichen, Flatiron-Evening ($5-7k) $23,750

Francesca Woodman, Untitled, Providence, RI ($25-35k) $86,500

Herb Ritts, Versace Dress, Back View 1990 ($20-30k) $68,500

Hiroshi Sugimoto, Joe #2134 ($60-80k) $170,500

Irving Penn, Poppy Showgirl, NY ($50-70k) $134,500

Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, Lyon Stadium ($90-120k) $278,500

Lewis Hine, Tenement Product, Chicago, C.1907 ($6-8k) $52,500

Lynn Davis, Red Pyramid, Dashur, Cairo ($7-9k) $20k

Margaret Bourke-White, GW Bridge, Hudson River ($40-60k) $104,500

Peter Beard, Cheetah Cubs Orphaned at Mweiga nr. Nyeri for The End of the Game ($10-15k) $32,500

Sally Mann, Shiva at Whistle Creek ($12-18K) $35,000

Sally Mann, Untitled from Deep South ($7-9k) $26,500

Eggleston Collector to Photographer: Your Contemporary Art Prints Dilute My Value

April 5, 2012 by Marion Maneker

A major collector of the photographer William Eggleston’s work has sued the artist over his sale of oversized prints recently held at Christie’s.

The Wall Street Journal gives the details of the case but not the background issue which is the shift from photography collectors to Contemporary art collectors. Eggleston made the new prints to appeal to the latter. The aggrieved party is one of the former:

On Wednesday, New York collector Jonathan Sobel filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Mr. Eggleston, alleging that the artist’s recent decision to print and sell oversized versions of some of his famous images in a Christie’s auction has diluted the rarity—and therefore the resale value—of the originals. Mr. Sobel is seeking unspecified damages and has asked the court to forbid the artist from making additional varieties of his older prints.

John Cahill, a New York lawyer representing Mr. Eggleston, said the suit has “no merit” because the artist’s decision to revisit his oeuvre and “create new editions in new formats” falls within his creative rights. Mr. Cahill also represents Mr. Eggleston’s two sons and the family’s Eggleston Artistic Trust, who are also named in the lawsuit.

Mr. Sobel, who manages a financial-services firm called DTF Holdings, said he has spent the past decade amassing 192 photographs by Mr. Eggleston. He’s also bought and given additional works to major museums like the Whitney Museum of American Art, where Mr. Sobel serves as a trustee. Mr. Sobel said the Egglestons in his private collection are worth between $3 million and $5 million combined.

Collector Sues Over Copies (Wall Street Journal)

Phillips de Pury NY Photography = $6.9m

October 5, 2011 by Marion Maneker

Phillips de Pury had a strong photography sale in New York today comprising 272 lots, 82% sold by lot totaling $6,929,250 (including premium).

Lot 56 Richard AvedonThe Beatles Portfolio: John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney, musicians, London, 1967, $722,500
Lot 221 Nadar (Gaspard Félix) and Adrien Tournachon, Pierrot with Fruit, 1854-1855, $542,500
Lot 226 Man Ray, Untitled (Self-portrait of Man Ray), 1933, $398,500
Lot 32 Irving Penn, Black and White Vogue Cover (Jean Patchett), New York, 1950, $374,500
Lot 251 Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe: A Portrait, 1935, $146,500
Lot 140 Bernd & Hilla Becher, Cooling Towers, Ruhr District, 1983, $140,500
Lot 73 Man Ray, Torso, 1930, $134,500
Lot 46 Candida Höfer, Handelingenkamer Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal Den Haag III, 2004, $104,500
Lot 141 Richard Avedon, Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent, 14 June, 1981, $98,500
Lot 66 Robert Mapplethorpe, Calla Lily, 1987, $86,500

Sales highlights include Nadar (Gaspard Félix) and Adrien Tournachon’s Pierrot with Fruit, 1854-1855, which brought $542,500 and set a world auction record for the fraternal duo as well as Nadar; Richard Avedon’s The Beatles Portfolio: John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney, musicians, London, 1967, which brought $722,500, becoming the second-highest price ever achieved for a work by Avedon at auction as well as a world auction record for the portfolio; Man Ray’s Untitled (Self-portrait of Man Ray), 1933, which brought $398,500, more than tripling the presale high estimate; and Candida Höfer’s Handelingenkamer Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal Den Haag III, 2004, which sold for $104,500 and set a new world auction record for the Libraries series by the artist.