Phillips Photographs London; Autumn

Phillips hosted its London Photographs auction this autumn with 120 lots on offer from artists such as Richard Avedon, Man Ray, Thomas Struth and Cindy Sherman. The auction closed at weekend with a sales total of £1.6 million ($2.1m).

As has been the case for much of 2019, Peter Beard’s work performed well at this auction, taking the top spot as the most expensive sale. The indulgently titled ‘756 elephants in a “misery likes company” formation / destroyed social units from starvation / exceeding carrying capacity / over-population / + mismanagement / TSAVO / @ the Mkomazi border / for The End of the Game / last word from paradise’ had an estimate of £100,000-£150,000 and sold for £212,500.

The second most expensive print was also a Peter Beard piece, ‘The Gardeners of Eden’ performed slightly below its top estimate of £120,000 by selling for £100,000.

The top three was rounded out by a print from Richard Avedon; Francis Bacon, artist, Paris, April 11, which had an estimate of £80,000 to £120,000 and sold for £81,250.

Browse all the lots from this auction, including the results, at Phillips’ auction page here.

[click on the title of each print to view the lot]