Walker Evans Auction Results

Christie’s plan to host two photography auctions in June were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, so Photographs: Icons & Style, scheduled to be held in Paris, and Form & Focus: Important Design & Photography, planned for New York were both transformed into four different online auctions over the months of April, May and June. The first of these auctions was Walker Evans: An American Master, a low-budget auction running from 21st to 29th of April.

The 39 lots that were available in this auction were all part of Christie’s partnership with New York’s Museum of Modern Art, in which the auction house were auctioning off more than 400 photography prints from the esteemed museum collection. Over the months and years since the partnership was announced, Christie’s has hosted a number of artist-specific auctions selling the works of venerated artists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams and Walker Evans. During the pandemic, Christie’s chose to host another Walker Evans auction, with prints available from as little as $100.

The photographs in this auction represent examples from some of the most well-known themes examined by this seminal American photographer. Featured in this group are images from throughout the American South made by Evans for the Resettlement Administration in the mid-1930s; architectural studies from New England circa 1930; as well as some of Evans’ pioneering and persistently influential images of roadside signage.

It appears all lots were sold, with the cheapest selling for $750. All together, the sale brought in a total of $91,875.

The most expensive lot was Walker’s Easton, Pennsylvania, 1935, which had an estimate of $5,000-$7,000 and sold for $1,750 over its top estimate at $8,750.

Second and third place went to Main Street Block, Selma, which sold for $6,875 and Negro Barber Shop Interior, which sold for $6,000.

Click print titles to view each individual photograph, or read through Christie’s results page here.