The_Art_Newspaper_-_November_2016

THE ART NEWSPAPER Number 284, November 2016 51

PHOTOGRAPHY

New York. Bereft of any dedicated single-collec-

tion sales, the season’s photography auctions

unspooled with few dramatic moments, with

mostly private buyers showing a preference for

established masters from every era.

Christie’s October sales notched up a total of

$3.5m (with fees, est $4.6m–$7m; all results here

include fees, unless otherwise stated). The 27 pic-

tures in the evening sale fetched $1.1m, led by

Man Ray’s unique Rayograph (1922) (est. $250,000-

$350,000), which sold for $295,500. Master status

did not save Edward Weston’s rare work Shells, 6S

(1927) (est $400,000-$600,000), from being bought

in, although prints by artists including Thomas

Struth, Robert Frank, Dorothea Lange, Erwin Blu-

menfeld, Richard Misrach and William Eggleston

all landed squarely within or above estimate. The

day session of 257 lots raised $2.4m, with high

demand for a group of 20 works by Robert Map-

plethorpe, spanning various stages of his career.

When asked to characterise the mood in the

saleroom, Darius Himes, the international head of

photographs at Christie’s, said: “There’s no longer

any ‘room’. It’s called the internet,” referring to

the increase of online bidders participating in live

auctions. Christie’s has sold more than $1m worth

of photographs in online-only sales this year.

“There’s real, untapped potential around photo-

graphs,” Himes says.

Spreading 254 lots over three sessions, Phillips

achieved its best results for works that crossed over

into the contemporary art category. Its sale made

$4.9m (est $5.1m–$7.2m), led by the early Gilbert

& George work Day (1978) (est $600,000-$800,000),

which sold for $670,000. Several prints by Diane

Arbus—who currently has a show at New York’s

Metropolitan Museum of Art—found buyers. Her

work Child with a toy Hand Grenade in Central

Park (1962) sold for $150,000 (est $70,000-$90,000).

“It’s wonderful to see strength at the highest end

of the market,” said Sarah Krueger, the head of the

sale. Contemporary compositions by Vik Muniz

New York buyers focus on

photography’s big names

Images by Man Ray, Diane Arbus and early Gilbert & George

tempt collectors as auctions buck up

GILBERT & GEORGE: COURTESY OF PHILLIPS. DI DONNAS: © CASEY KELBAUGH

IN THE TRADE

THE AUCTION HOUSES

Philips has made a number of recent

hires and promotions. Hugues Jofre

has been named the special adviser

to the chief executive oicer, Edward

Dolman, in addition to his role as

chairman of the company in Europe.

Alexander Payne, previously the

international head of the design

department, has been promoted to

deputy chairman. Robert Manley,

who joined the irm in October

2016, has been appointed the

worldwide co-head of 20th-century

and contemporary art. And Cecilia

Lafan has joined Phillips as a regional

representative for Mexico. The house

holds its irst sale of 20th-century

and contemporary art and design in

Hong Kong on 27 November.

Cécile Verdier has been

appointed the vice president of

Sotheby’s France, while Gaurav

Bhatia will be joining the company

as the managing director of

Sotheby's India.

Victor Teodorescu has been named

as Christie's Paris specialist in the

African and Oceanic department

after ive and a half years at the

Brussels oice of the German

auction house Lempertz.

THE FAIRS

The inaugural Photofairs San

Francisco will take place from 27 to

29 January 2017 at the Fort Mason

Festival Pavilion.

THE GALLERIES

Tornabuoni Art Paris is moving to the

Marais district of the city from January

2017. The gallery will open with a
      retrospective of Alighiero Boetti.

Timothy Taylor has opened its irst

space in Chelsea, New York, named

Timothy Taylor 16×34 after the

dimensions of the space in feet.

Denis Gardarin is the new senior

director at Paul Kasmin Gallery.

Nick Olney, previously the senior

sales director, has been named the

managing director.

The Mark Moore Gallery in Culver

City, California, will close in December

and is selling its gallery space.

The Di Donna Gallery has relocated to

744 Madison Avenue, Manhattan, and

opened with the show Paths to the

Absolute (until 3 December), featuring

abstract masters such as Jackson

Pollock and Wassily Kandinsky.

OTHER

Invaluable, an online marketplace

for ine art, antiques and collectibles,

has named William Ruprecht, the

former chairman at Sotheby’s, as the

chairman of its advisory board.

After the launch of its art lending

business alongside its existing fund

and art advisory services, the Fine Art

Fund Group has been rebranded as

the Fine Art Group.

ARTIST MOVES

White Rainbow now represents

Yuko Mohri, fresh from a residency

at the Victoria and Albert Museum,

London. Bosco Sodi has joined Paul

Kasmin Gallery. The Sunday Painter

has added the British artist Emma

Hart to its roster, and the London

gallery Stuart Shave/Modern Art

now represents Peter Halley and

Josh Kline. Terence Koh has joined

Moran Bondarof gallery. Hauser &

Wirth has announced its worldwide

representation of the Arshile Gorky

Estate. Marianne Boesky Gallery

now represents Sanford Biggers.

Aimee Dawson, with

additional reporting by

Claudia Barbieri Childs

Di Donna Gallery directors

Emmanuel and Christina Di Donna

Gilbert & George’s Day (1978) sold for $670,000

and Hiroshi Sugimoto, as well as fashion-oriented

images from the likes of Herb Ritts and Helmut

Newton, all saw competitive bids, and new records

were set for Doug and Mike Starn, Hannah Wilke

and Neil Leifer.

Last but not least, Sotheby’s made $2.9m (est

$3.4m-$5.2m) on its 178-lot sale, topped by a 1918

portrait by Alfred Stieglitz of his future wife, the

artist Georgia O’Keefe (est $300,000-$500,000). The

rare print is believed to be the only one in private

hands and sold to a collector for $250,000. The

top-selling contemporary works included Peter

Beard’s Orphaned Cheetah Cubs, Mweiga, Kenya

(1968) (est $50,000-$70,000), which sold for $87,500,

while Yves Klein’s famed Situationist collaboration

with Harry Shunk and János Kender, Leap into the

Void (1960) (est. $15,000-$25,000), set a new record

for a photograph by Klein, selling for $62,500 to

Chicago’s Alan Koppel Gallery.

Sarah P. Hanson