On October 15 and 16, Sotheby’s fall sales of photographs in New York totaled $12,709,389, exceeding expectations.
The two-day series of sales was highlighted by Edward Weston’s seminal “Nautilus,” an early state of the image on matte-surface paper from the collection of Alexandra R. Marshall, which commanded $1,105,000, a record for the artist at auction and one of the few photographs to break the $1 million mark.
This was the top lot of the various-owners sale of photographs, comprising the strongest group of photographs from various owners to be presented at auction in recent years, which brought $10,950,038, a record total at Sotheby’s.
The single-owner sale of photographs from the collection of Nancy Richardson achieved $1,759,351. Records were also set for Imogen Cunningham, Frederick Sommer, Aaron Siskind, Louis Faurer, Peter Beard and Herb Ritts, among others.
The various-owners sale of photographs featured an exceptional group of photographs by Weston, the most significant offering of his work to come to auction in decades. In addition to “Nautilus,” the sale featured a number of “Oceano” dune studies from 1936, with prices reaching $373,000 and two reaching $241,000. A nude study of Miriam Lerner sold for $313,000, doubling its high estimate.
Additionally, Dorothea Lange’s famous 1933 “White Angel Breadline,” what may well be the earliest extant print of the subject, sold for $445,000. Cunningham was represented by two early prints of signature botanical images †an exceedingly scarce, signed and mounted print of “Tower of Jewels,” 1925, which sold for $361,000, a record for the artist at auction, and a large signed print of the 1925 “Magnolia Blossom,” which brought $301,000.
Prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For information, 212-606-7000 or www.sothebys.com .
