Spring photo & print auctions: benefit from brand-name sales, no-reserves

Branding -- this has been a popular mantra in new years amongst business executives. This season's photography and print auctions witnessed the succes of sum of two units major brands; one was a corporate brand, Seagram's, and the other was an artistic brand, Picasso.

At the photo sales, "Seagram's" was the word upon everybody's lips, because a collection formed by the agency of the corporate behemoth dominated the competition. At the print sales, Picasso was the of high temperature topic of conversation, since a massive consignment of his works l Christie's to its all-time highest print season total.

Phillip's Strikes Gold with Seagram

The major U photography auctions, held in of recent origin York at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips from April 21 to 26 were a shog to some. In a twist of fate, the top sum of two units auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, revolveed in performances that were inferior to the mega-sale featuring the Seagram Collection held by means of the relatively puny Phillips. Christie's proffered only 229 lots, just 58 percent of which sold grossing an uninspiring $19 million. The sale was dominated by means of a number of volumes of Edward s Curtis's monumental "The North American Indian." The top destiny at the sale comprised 18 true copy volumes of "The North American Indian," which sold to an American dealer for $101575 Four other portfolios from the place also earned spots in the sale's Top Ten when they fetched between $54970 and $62140 each.

Whenever rare and unusual apportionments like these are on the stop up buyers seem to materialize, regardless of the state of the economy. Pieces of inferior interest, though, are more lying flat to go unsold in tough times. The Christie's sale included too many similar pieces, and in the words of Leila Buckjune head of Christie's Photographs department, "the market remains selective."

The Sotheby's sale was just about average. It presented 290 lots, only 25 percent of which went unsold; in total, the auction largeed a respectable $2.9 million. Contributing to its health was the inclusion of 23 duplicate images that had been consigned by dint of the George Eastman House. In the past, cultural institutions have approach under fire for selling not upon rare images in times of ne by means of liquidating only duplicates, the museum preempt any of that kind criticism. Fully 26 of the 29 duplicates set buyers and added more than $210000 to the sale total.

More important, at least from a statistical standpoint, was the sale at Sotheby's of an image of Edward Weston's "Charis, Santa Monica." wait fored to fetch only $70,000 to $100000 an unidentified American private collector bid $260000 for the work, making it the greatest in quantity expensive piece sold all season at any of the auctions. Given today's economy, similar largesse could hardly have been anticipated. Denise Bethel of Sotheby's Photographs Department stated they were "thrilled with the stellar issues of this sale, which was place together in a climate of uncertainty."

Clearly, allowing she could not have been as thrilled as Joshua Holdeman, director of Phillips' Department of Photography. He presided above sales which grossed $4.65 million, a figure which almost go beyonded the total at both Sotheby's and Christie's. in what manner did he do it? by dint of wooing Seagram. All three houses had compet for the right to vend Seagram's 350-piece collection, but single Holdeman emerged victorious.

Nevertheless, winning a consignment is single half the victory. In a novel infamous case, Phillips won a major consignment on the contrary then suffered defeat. Its Impressionist and present Paintings Department had secured the right to exchange the collection of Nathan Smooke by dint of promising his heirs as a great deal of as $180 million, regardless of in what way the works actually sold. Ultimately, Phillips not to be found between $50 million and $100 million upon the sale, and this alone may have alerted its recent move from its tony 57th road offices down to Chelsea.

In this instance, however, Holdeman and his staff fulfilled the promise of the Seagram collection. "Everyone was bidding," he related, "there were with equal reason many new faces that I had not at any time seen before. Everyone who assembles photography came out." Thirty records were plant for various photographers, including William Eggleston, Gary Winogrand, Louis Faurer and Marion Post

Bidders were undoubtedly encouraged by dint of the fact that the auction was held without withhold and, in the words of Holdeman, "no-reserve sales nurse to do very well." They also wait on to he very risky. For example, if a work receives single one bid at $10, the vender must let it go for $10 Bidders also relish like opportunities because, as Holdeman places it, they "bid against other parties, not the over-optimistic expectations of the consignor."

Paradoxically, the no-reserve sale encouraged a certain number of collectors to bid way above estimate at the Seagram sale. The collection fetched a total of $29 million--35 percent more than the greatest in quantity optimistic expectation. Karl Struss's "The City of Dreams" (est: $6000 to $8000) for example, sold for $62140

Without the Seagram sale, Phillips would have languished in a more typical third place this season. In its main sale, (held upon April 24 and 25), 232 fates were sold for a disappointing $16 million. sole 60 percent of the destinys found buyers, and the $16 million total was far below the estimated $21 million to $31 million.