Free fun at some very expensive stores
rutt
Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
The week after next is "Photography Week" at the two big New York art auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's. Both have a generic, "Photographs" auction. In addition, Christie's has Maplethorpe flowers, and a very large private collection with great coverage of 20th century greats and Sotheby's has a the sale of a private collection, with Weston, Stieglitz, &etc.
These auctions are for original prints of important photographs and even the least expensive will sell for thousands of dollars. But there are two kinds of free fun to be had here. The first is online fun that you can have without leaving your chair. You can browse the online catalogues for these sales and see larger better reproductions online than you can usually find of these photographs. For example, I found this Penn in the Christie's auction:
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/LotFinderImages/D45720/D4572059x.jpg
The Christie's site is more open than the Sotheby's site. To browse the catalogs for the Christie's auctions all you have to do is visit: http://www.christies.com/departments/overview.asp?DID=72
You have to register to browse the Sotheby's catalogs. I don't suppose this is any more onerous than registering for, say, dgrin. You get the option not to receive any mail and you get a privacy guarantee. But the instructions are a little more complex:
The second kind of fun works if you are in NYC next week or the weekend after this coming. You can go see the previews of the auctions, which is like going to a great museum show of photographs. It's really very differnt to see these in person than it is to see even a fine reproduction in an expensive art book. I'm considering a trip to NYC while these previews are up. Anyone interested?
I suppose the third kind of fun would be to actually go to the auctions and see the action take place. Personally, I think auctions are pretty boring even when the stuff is very interesting. My wife, on the other hand, thinks auctions are more fun than going to a Broadway play.
These auctions are for original prints of important photographs and even the least expensive will sell for thousands of dollars. But there are two kinds of free fun to be had here. The first is online fun that you can have without leaving your chair. You can browse the online catalogues for these sales and see larger better reproductions online than you can usually find of these photographs. For example, I found this Penn in the Christie's auction:
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/LotFinderImages/D45720/D4572059x.jpg
The Christie's site is more open than the Sotheby's site. To browse the catalogs for the Christie's auctions all you have to do is visit: http://www.christies.com/departments/overview.asp?DID=72
You have to register to browse the Sotheby's catalogs. I don't suppose this is any more onerous than registering for, say, dgrin. You get the option not to receive any mail and you get a privacy guarantee. But the instructions are a little more complex:
- Visit http://search.sothebys.com/
- Click on "Auctions" along the top row.
- Refine your search by typing in "photographs" in the "Event Finder" box on the right, leaving the rest blank
- When you go to browse the catalogs, you'll be prompted to register.
The second kind of fun works if you are in NYC next week or the weekend after this coming. You can go see the previews of the auctions, which is like going to a great museum show of photographs. It's really very differnt to see these in person than it is to see even a fine reproduction in an expensive art book. I'm considering a trip to NYC while these previews are up. Anyone interested?
I suppose the third kind of fun would be to actually go to the auctions and see the action take place. Personally, I think auctions are pretty boring even when the stuff is very interesting. My wife, on the other hand, thinks auctions are more fun than going to a Broadway play.
If not now, when?
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Comments
But I have a hard time seeing that this shot went for $253,000
(mod edit: please, no direct embedding of photos that are not yours...links ok)
Sorry, here's the link to the shot at Cristies
Interesting but . . . but I'll bet if I posted this on the dgrin "whipping post" forum, I wouldn't be able to sit for a week.
At least it doesn't have any "blown highlights"
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
Fill a rectangle with a R3G3B3 - and if you last name is Malevitch it will cost millions..
Here's one I really like from the Elfering Collection, Christies link.
And compared to my previous post, this one's a bargain at $40K.
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LOTDETAIL.ASP?sid=&intObjectID=4576036
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LOTDETAIL.ASP?sid=&intObjectID=4572084
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LOTDETAIL.ASP?sid=&intObjectID=4572085
and Avedon:
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LotDetail.asp?intObjectID=4572206&SN=1642&LN=0161
(Those came inside Sargent Peper's and the whole thing cost < $5 when I was 17.)
Now don't get me wrong, those two all time favorites of mine and these are among their best works. But those are big prices in comparison with recent years.
By comparison, this Cartier-Bresson is a steal:
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LOTDETAIL.ASP?sid=&intObjectID=4576089
And even Ansel Adams is looking affordable by comparison.
Meant to say "by comparison" and added that. None of these look affordable to me right now. I don't know how to guess where these prices are going. But it's making me feel pretty good, because about 15 years ago, I took a stock bonus and bought some original prints at a Sotheby's auction. I got two Cartier-Bressons for less that $1k each. I got a portfolio of 5 Edgertons for about $2,500 (I forget exactly how much.) And I got this Penn for $3k:
http://search.sothebys.com/jsps/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=4HH8S
It's very true that there are prints for sale for prices which make no sense to me. That was true 15 years ago as well. At that time, Maplethorpe erratica went for $50k and up. Jeez, I'd pay not to have those. On the other hand, I could kick myself for not buying more HCB and Penn at the time when it was so cheap. Avedon seemed so expensive at the time, I didn't buy. But it would have been the best investment of all. Those Beatles album inserts would have gone for < $10k.
When I first scanned your message I thought you misspelled "erratica" - love the pun <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/mwink.gif" border="0" alt="" > and I'm in aggreement! HCB, Penn, Avedon - great choices. I'll have to look up Edgarton, my mind is a blank on his works.
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
Google images works pretty well to give you an idea. This guy invented the strobe light and "stop action photography." He was an MIT professor.
Yes, the photographs are all hung and all insured. They are hung in the hallways where there is no sunlight to fade them.