Adalbert Cuvelier
Adalbert Cuvelier
Adalbert Cuvelier 
Adalbert Cuvelier 
Édouard Baldus
Édouard Baldus
Henri Courmont
Eugene Cuvelier
JB Greene
Gustave Le Gray
FE Le Dien
Henri Le Secq
Henri Victor Regnault
Henri Victor Regnault
Louis Vignes
Phaidon booth
Later this afternoon, I'll be posting Parts 2 and 3 of this series, a similarly eclectic gathering of pictures from some of the photo exhibitions around Paris during the fair.
The results of Christie's King Street sale of Photographs last week in London were generally fair to middling. The Total Sale Proceeds came in within the estimate range, although nearer the bottom than the top, and the Buy-In rate hovered in the low thirties. Half of the Penn lots on offer failed to find buyers, a somewhat negative surprise in the otherwise frothy market for his work.
Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):
83.339% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above their estimate. There were a total of eight surprises in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):
Kunsthaus Lempertz has both a various owner Photography sale and a Contemporary Art sale that includes photography coming up in Cologne later this week. It's the usual assortment of generally lower end European material, with a selection of works by Polke and the Bechers in the contemporary mix. Overall, there are a total of 217 lots of photography across the two sales, with a Total High Estimate of 541600€.
The top lot by High estimate is tied between three lots. Each is a group of 4 winding tower prints by Bernd and Hilla Becher (each individual image titled by location): lot 308 from 1966-1973, lot 309 from 1967-1975, and lot 310 from 1966-1973. Each of the lots is estimated at 20000-25000€.
(Lot 765, Paul Strand, The Barn, Quebec, 1936/1960s, 7500€, at right, top, Lot 844, János Szász, Schulbal - Tanz Im Einklang, 1965, 1500€, at right, middle, and Lot 756, Man Ray, Domaine De Sade II, 1976, 3000-4000€, at right, bottom, all via Lempertz.)
JTF (just the facts): A total of 21 black and white photographs, framed in white and matted, and hung against grey walls in the divided gallery space. All of the works are platinum palladium prints mounted on aluminum, sized 16x24 or reverse, and made between 1979 and 1980. Nearly every image in the show comes in its own edition size, each ranging somewhere between 6 and 64 prints, with dozens of intermediate sizes. A catalogue of the exhibition has been published by the gallery and is available at the reception desk for $30. There is no photography allowed in the gallery, so the installation shots at right are via the Pace/MacGill website.
Comments/Context: That Irving Penn was a master of the photographic still life is probably a foregone, obvious conclusion for most collectors at this point. His flowers, frozen vegetables, melted brie, mozzarella, playing cards, cigarette butts, and street trash have all become truly iconic visual works. Not only did he discover new juxtapositions between objects that have rarely, if ever, been placed in the spotlight, but during his long career, he thoroughly and consistently redefined the edges and expectations of the entire genre.
Each one of these images is both a master class in composition and a bravura performance in printing. Regardless of the object's former function or purpose, Penn has understood its physical qualities, its shape and form, and meticulously placed it in concert with its nearby companions. The geometric blocks become almost Cubist in their jumbled piles, sides and faces angled just so to create aesthetic balance and capture the light (or dark); who knew a concrete disk with a circular hole in the middle could be so unbelievably perfect? His masses of bones play with subtleties of organic curvature and texture, their surfaces mottled or worn smooth. The grey scale tonality in the prints runs the entire spectrum from pure white to pure black, with a consistent crisp grace that is truly staggering.
Collector's POV: The prints in this show are priced between $15000 and $180000, with a sweet spot between $20000 and $50000. Since Penn's death, there has been a flurry of activity in the secondary markets, as collectors and institutions try to find the new equilibrium. Prices have ranged from $5000 to $400000 in recent years, with many lots moving up with surprising speed in the past few sales. A good proxy for the current Penn market can be found in the results of the Christie's Penn sale in April (here and here).
Villa Grisebach has its various owner photographs sale in Berlin later this week, with its usual mix of European material on offer. A group of architectural studies by Walter Gropius are among the highlights. Overall, there are a total of 196 lots available in this sale, with a Total High Estimate of 634100€.
Here is the list of the photographers who are represented by four or more lots in the sale (with the number of lots in parentheses):
