Photography At Auction

A Grand Vision Auction Results, Feb 22

The first photography auction of the year has taken place with the sale of Ansel Adams photographs from investor David H. Arrington’s broad collection. The ‘A Grand Vision’ auction took place in New York on 17 February, bringing together 100 lots of Ansel images including famous prints such as Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, CA; The Tetons and Snake River, Grand Teton National…

Phillips Photographs London 21, Results

The final photography auction of the year was hosted by Phillips London, with a billing of over 100 lots from celebrated artists such as Irving Penn, Wolfgang Tillmans, Helmut Newton and Terry O’Neill. The auction came with estimates as low at £800 and as high as £350,000. The auction took place on 23 November in London and brought in a combined sales total of £2,880,423 ($3,842,743). The…

Christie’s Paris Photographies Results

Scheduled seemingly at the last minute, Christie’s Paris hosted a photography auction on the 9th November bringing nearly 100 lots of ‘property by significant 20th century photographers including Pierre Dubreuil, Peter Lindbergh, Helmut Newton and Irving Penn alongside contemporary artists such as Thomas Struth, Robert Polidori and Candida Höfer’. The auction brought in a sales total of…

Sotheby’s London Photographs Results, November 2021

After a nearly five week break, photography auctions have recommenced, starting with a Photographs auction from Sotheby’s London. The auction took place over several days, culminating with the final results on 16 November. The auction brought together nearly 100 prints from ‘some of the most celebrated names in photography from the 20th and 21st centuries’ including the works of Nobuyoshi Araki,…

Phillips Photographs Auction Results, 2021

While Sotheby’s and Christie’s have been and gone with their first photography auctions of autumn, Phillips saved their photographs for a bumper Photographs auction in New York with over 240 lots on offer. The auction, which took place on 7 October, is set to be the last photography auction this month, with no more sales set until mid-November in London. Combined with Phillips’ Reframing Beauty…

Phillips Reframing Beauty Auction Results

After months without any photography auctions, Phillips came back with two on the same day. Reframing Beauty: A Private Seattle Collection saw 65 lots for sale from artists such as Robert Adams, Stephen Shore, Lee Friedlander, Nan Golden and Diane Arbus. Auctions from private collections usually throw up some affordable lots for collectors and this auction was no exception with a Diane Arbus…

Sotheby’s Contemporary Photographs Auction Results 2021

The second of Sotheby’s 7-day photography auctions brought together over 80 lots of work by prominent living artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans, Cindy Sherman, Sam Taylor-Johnson and Annie Leibovtiz. Sotheby’s Contemporary Photographs auction ran at the same time as the Classics, from 28th September to 5th October with live bids taking place on the last day. Like most contemporary photography…

Sotheby’s Classic Photographs Auction Results 2021

Sotheby’s hosted two photography auctions over a week from 28th September to 5th October, one auction brought together well-known work from long-regarded photographers such as Ansel Adams, Robert Frank and Man Ray. The Classic Photographs auction was made up of lots from numerous private collections such as those of Dr Joseph D. Lchtenberg, Jay I. Kislak and Ann Tenebaum and Thomas H. Lee. With…

A Life Among Artists Auction Results

A Life Among Artists: Contemporary Photographs from an Esteemed Private Collection ran from 22nd to 29th September at Sotheby’s New York bringing together work from some of the most celebrated contemporary artists including the world’s most successful female artist at auction; Cindy Sherman, as well as Wolfgang Tillmans, Stephen Shore, Andreas Gursky and marquee artist Marina Ambramovic, as well…

Autumn Photography Auctions, 2021

It seems a long time ago since we last enjoyed a photography auction, after such a long summer break stretching out from 29th June to 22nd September. Christie’s Paris were the last to provide a medium-specific sale with the Photographies Auction achieving a sales total of €1,330,625. But now autumn is upon us and, thankfully, that means photography auctions are back on the cards with at least 9…

Now that we’ve transitioned into the final stretch of this year’s photography auctions and we have only one last quarter left to go until 2022 looms upon us. Here is a quick recap of some industry items that have made the news this year including several camera auctions and the deaths of numerous legendary photographers: Michel Gravel dies at 84: LaPresse.ca 9 of the rarest cameras in the…

Christie’s Photographies Auction Results; June 2021

Christie’s Paris hosted their annual Photographies auction at the end of June, bringing together over 100 lots of  20th and 21st century photographs from artists such as Thomas Ruff, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Nan Golden, Robert Mapplethorpe and Richard Prince. Lots were available from as little as €1,000. In total, the auction raised €1,330,625 with 72 lots sold. (more…)

Photography Auction Results, Spring 2021

To finish off the last of the spring auctions, Sotheby’s and Phillips held their Photographs auctions in London. Over 200 photographic lots were available between the two auction houses, with estimates ranging from £800 to £80,000. The following are the results from each auction: (more…)

Summer Photography Auctions, 2021

Summer is usually a fairly quiet time in the photography auction calendar, with the remnants of spring taking place throughout May, but this year (as was the case in 2020 as an affect of the pandemic), there will be a photography auction taking place in June too, this time in the form of Christie’s Paris’ Photographies auction. Take a look at the remainder of this season’s auctions in the list…

50 Masterworks for 50 Years of Sotheby’s Photographs

Sotheby’s London and Sotheby’s New York hosted a joint photography auction on the 21st and 22nd of April with the 50 Masterworks to Celebrate 50 Years of Sotheby’s Photographs, bringing together 25 photographs embodying Sotheby’s journey in photography sales over the last 5 decades. (more…)

Phillips’ Photographs, April 2021

Last Thursday saw another Photographs auction, this time from Phillips, which is the auction house’s first photography sale of the year. The auction brought together 256 lots from photographers such as Robert Frank, Thomas Ruff, Helmut Newton and Hiroshi Sugimoto are realised a sales total of $5,412,078 – the most expensive sales total of the year so far. (more…)

Sotheby’s Photographs, April 2021

Sotheby’s hosted their first Photographs auction of the year on Wednesday with a sale of 162 lots by ‘many masters of the medium, and features a range of material from the 19th to 21st centuries’. Lots included Celebrity portraiture, still life, landscapes and architectural studies, as well as ‘property of a prominent corporation’. In total the auction raised $2,093,994 in sales. (more…)