NEW YORK.- Christie’s remarkable series of three Photographs sales this week has taken the market to previously unseen heights. Totaling an extraordinary $14,530,360, the sales, The Gert Elfering Collection, Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers and Photographs, offered collectors the most exciting selection of 20th Century photography in New York – and combined were 94% sold by value and 85% by lot. The unrivalled success of the three sales, expected pre-sale to realize in the region of $8.5 million, have set a new standard and benchmark as the market continues to mature and strengthen – and Christie’s New York reinforced its position at the centre of the business.
“The Christie's Photographs department could not be more thrilled by the results from this week's sales. Numerous auction records were shattered and the overall strength and depth of the marketplace was resoundingly demonstrated. We are delighted to have achieved this spectacular total through a tightly edited group of 400 lots between the 3 sales,” say Joshua Holdeman, Head of Photographs, New York, and Philippe Garner, International Director of Photographs.
Numerous records were set during the auctions, including a re-breaking of the Robert Mapplethorpe record today that had stood for only 48 hours, originally broken during the dedicated Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers sale. Other seminal photographer records set included those for Henri Cartier-Bresson, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Peter Beard and Brassaï. And, for the first time, a photograph lot sold for more than $1 million in the United States, when Edward S. Curtis’ complete The North American Indian portfolios fetched $1,416,000.
