News-Antique.com - Oct 26,2007 - Three Photographs sales were held at Rockefeller this week, and together they realized $9.78 million. Excellent prices were achieved for works from both the 19th and 20th centuries, and the top lot of the combined sales was Robert Frank's iconic image from the 1950's Deep South, Trolley, New Orleans. The photograph fetched $623,400, and set a new world auction record for the artist in the process.
Sold: $ 2,061,150 £1,010,367.65 €1,451,514.08
Lots Sold: 34 Lots Offered: 37 Sold by Lot: 92% Sold by $: 96%
Exchange Rate: $ =£2.04/ € 1.42
16 Robert Frank – Trolley, New Orleans (1955)Gelatin silver printNEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD $150,000-250,000 $623,400£305,588€ 439,014 U.S. Trade
24 Robert Frank – Caerau, Wales (1953)Gelatin silver print $30,000-50,000 $115,000£56,373€80,986 U.S. Trade
13 Dorothea Lange – White Angel Breadline, San Francisco (1933)Gelatin silver print (printed c. 1950) $40,000-60,000 $103,000£50,490€72,535 Anonymous
Stuart Alexander, Senior Specialist, Christie’s New York Photographs, says: “The Robert Frank market continues to climb, and we were particularly pleased to set a new world auction record for the artist. The excellent results of the sale, which far exceeded our pre-sale high estimate, reflect the depth of interest when prints of this quality and caliber are offered to the international marketplace. The success of the sale also pays testament to the legacy of photographers such as Frank and Walker Evans who have left an indelible mark on generations of artists.”
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Sold: $ 1,184,025 £ 580,404 € 833,820
Lots Sold: 33 Lots Offered: 51 Sold by Lot: 65% Sold by $: 73%
Exchange Rate: $ =£2.04/ € 1.42
Lot Description Estimate ($) Purchase Price Buyer
127 Cindy Sherman – Untitled (Film Still #22), 1978Gelatin silver print $80,000-120,000 $205,000£100,490€ 144,366 U.S. Private
104 Man Ray – Self-Portrait with Studio Camera, 1932Gelatin silver print $80,000-120,000 $157,000£76,961€110,563 U.S. Trade
138 Chuck Close – Study for “Keith/4 Times”, 19754 Gelatin silver print constructions with ink, graphite, masking tape and paper collage $100,000-150,000 $109,000£53,431€76,761 U.S. Trade
Joshua Holdeman, Head of 20th Century Art, Christie’s New York, says: “This themed collection achieved a number of significant results, notably for artists as diverse as Man Ray and Cindy Sherman, whose Untitled (Film Still #22) fetched an very impressive $205,000.”
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Sold: $ 6,532,825 £ 3,202,365 € 4,600,581
Lots Sold: 183 Lots Offered: 259 Sold by Lot: 71% Sold by $: 85%
Exchange Rate: $ =£2.04 / € 1.42
Lot Description Estimate ($) Purchase Price Buyer
415 Diane Arbus – A Jewish Giant at home with his parents, 1967 / gelatin silver print, printed 1970-71 $300,000-500,000 $421,000£206,373€269,479 U.S. Trade
272 Irving Penn – Cuzco Children, 1948 / Platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted on aluminum, printed January 1978 $200,000-300,000 $361,000£176,961€ 254,225 European Trade
377 Edward Steichen – Rodin, Le Penseur, Paris, 1902 / gum-bichromate print $150,000-250,000 $313,000£153,431€220,422 European
212 Carleton E. Watkins – Selected Images of Yosemite, 1861 / 20 mammoth plate albumen prints $250,000-350,000 $241,000£118,137€169,718 Anonymous
354 Man Ray – Noire et Blanche, 1926 / gelatin silver print, probably printed 1960s $200,000-300,000 $241,000£118,137€169,718 South American Private
266 Diane Arbus
