Sotheby’s Photographs Auctions, Spring 22
Though Sotheby’s kicked off the photography auction year back in February with a sale of Ansel Adams prints, it was been a fairly quiet year for the auction house ever since. But in mid April the photography auctions resumed, first with a Photographs auction in New York, then followed up a few weeks later with a Photographs auction in London.
The New York Photographs sale took place over a week from 5th to 13th April, with a range of photographers work up for sale. The auction brought in a sales total of $2,004,030 with many lots set with no reserve, meaning buyers were offered the opportunity to buy prints from some of the world’s most celebrated artists from as little as $378. The highest priced lot was Thomas Eakins’ 1883 photograph Male Nudes Boxing which outperformed its $30,000-$50,000 estimate by seeing a hammer price of $327,600. A collection of photography volumes was the second highest priced lot, also outperforming it’s estimate ($180,000-$220,000) by selling for $226,800. Coming third was Ansel Adams’ auction favourite Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley, which received a modest $69,300 after a conservative estimate of $60,000-$80,000.
Sotheby’s London hosted their Photographs auction next, with a modest offering, bringing in no more than £481,950 in sales. The selection brought together a smorgasbord of work from artists such as Wolfgang Tillsman, Chris Levine and David Yarrow. The most expensive lot was a portfolio of x-rated photographs (NSFW) by Robert Mapplethorpe, which was estimated to fetch £50,000-£70,000 and achieved a middle ground result at £63,000. Richard Learoyd made the top three with a portrait, Agnes (NSFW), that outperformed its top estimate of £35,000 by selling for £40,320. Mario Testino’s Kate at Mine was the third most expensive lot with a proaction estimate of £30,000-£50,000 and a hammer price of £37,800.
There has been a host of other photography auctions from Christie’s and Phillips too, read all about them in tomorrow’s post.
image by Alexander Andrews