Phillips’ Photographs Auction Results; November 2017

Every autumn Phillips host a sale of photographs from some of the most influential practitioners in the field, which has seen an increase in new investors year on year. This week saw the online Photographs sale realise a total of £1,551,750, and several world records broken for various artists. Buyers took part from all over the world, from Hong Kong to Florida, the Netherlands to Mexico, using online and phone bidding.

There were 97 lots available to bid on, with estimates ranging from £1,500 to £80,000. As well as the usual selection of work by some of the most infamous photographers in the world, there were also sales from Latin American Photographers, with ‘twelve rare prints, spanning four decades and featuring two brand new artists to auction’. In all, 75 lots were sold.

Irving Penn’s Single Oriental Poppy, New York, which had an estimate of £50,000 – £70,000, sold for £118,750, making it the most expensive lot at the auction, and a world record for the image.

Another high-priced lot was Helena Almeida’s Ponto de Fuga (Vanishing Point), which sold for £75,000, and became a world record for the artist.

Other exciting bids included Joseph Szabo’s Priscilla which was battled out between bidders in London and Mexico over the phone and online, eventually selling for £4,800. Almost double it’s top estimation of £2,500

In a joint statement Genevieve Janvrin and Yuka Yamaji, Co-Heads of Photographs, Europe, said:

“The active audience throughout this sale was truly global, with our online platform enabling collectors to participate from across Europe to Australia, Brazil, California, Hong Kong, and beyond. ULTIMATE, a biannual offering of works exclusive to Phillips, was 100% sold for the second season in a row, cementing the market’s positive response to this multifaceted platform. World auction records were set for five artists featured in ULTIMATE, including Helena Almeida and Anne Collier from the dedicated selection of works championing today’s leading women artists. Our highly successful collaboration with Calvin Klein resulted in a new world auction record for Steven Meisel, beating Phillips’ previous record, as well as stellar results for Bruce Weber and David Sims. Debuting at auction was 28-year-old Danila Tkachenko, with his unique triptych from Restricted Areas, 2013-2015, far exceeding the high estimate.”

View all results from this auction by clicking here.