Phillips’ Photographs Auction Results; 2018
Phillips’ first photography auction of the year commenced on 9th April with over 200 lots available from artists such as Robert Capa, Andreas Gursky and Irving Penn.
The auction realised a sales total of $4,962,125 with 186 lots of 233 selling.
The most anticipated sale was Heart Attack City by Peter Beard which had an estimate of $500,000-$700,000 and achieved a hammer price of $603,000, however there were several talking points including the second most expensive lot which was Bewegungsstudie (Movement Study) by Rudolf Koppitz which realised a hammer price of $399,000 making it a world auction record for the artist with his previous record selling for less than three times the amount.
Andreas Gursky’s EM, Arena, Amsterdam I print (featured) was expected to fetch between $350,000 to $450,000. But failed to reach its lowest estimate with a price of $331,250 – a result that came after the auction ended.
Another world auction record was achieved in the auction, this time for Robert Capa whose Death of a Loyalist Soldier sold for $162,500 (estimate of $80,000-$120,000) five times more than his previous record.
Vanessa Hallett, Deputy Chairman, Americas and Worldwide Head of Photographs, said, “In our first New York Photographs auction of the year, we saw continued demand for images that have become an essential part of the visual culture of the 20th century. With bidding from thirty-four countries across four continents, there was a great deal of enthusiasm for photographs spanning the century. Auction records were set for both Rudolf Koppitz and Robert Capa’s iconic works and photographs by Contemporary masters also performed exceptionally well. Peter Beard’s Heart Attack City led the sale and Vik Muniz’s The Scream, after Edvard Munch from Pictures of Pigment soared to $100,000, doubling its low estimate. We look forward to continuing this momentum at the next Photographs sale in London on 18 May, which includes the highly anticipated ULTIMATE Evening Sale.”
Rachel Peart, Photographs Specialist, said, “It was truly a privilege for Phillips to offer works from the Dr. Saul Unter Collection. These remarkable lots saw spirited bidding from across the globe, with Rudolf Koppitz’s record-setting Bewegungsstudie (Movement Study), 1924 leading the group. Dr. Unter’s unique vision in forming such an impressive collection of photographs was certainly evident to our collectors in today’s auction, as we saw strong prices for these important images, which span the 20th century.”
You can browse all the lots available in this auction at Phillips’ dedicated webpage here.