Phillips : 27 Exceptional Photographs Auction

We got an invitation to the preview party for the Phillips : 27 Exceptional Photographs sale in the mail yesterday. Our first thought...

Have the pickings become so god dam slim in the world of Art photography that all they could come up with was 27 "exceptional" photos?  Yikes!

What's even more depressing.. We looked at their website.. to see how "exceptional" these photos are... and we can honestly say.. while they were all very nice, there were only 4 or 5 we'd even consider truly exceptional. Wow.. It's such a sellers market in the world of Art Photography.

Here's our top pick (photo #1)...A true vintage, Andre Kertesz Iconic image, in a decent size 10x7" (most vintage Kertesz works are the size of a postage stamp), and from a great provenance.

Lot 6 :  PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF SOIZIC AUDOUARD
ANDRÉ KÉRTESZ

Meudon, 1928
Gelatin silver print, printed 1928-1935. 9 3/8 x 6 15/16 in. (23.8 x 17.6 cm).  Titled by the artist in pencil, '32 bis, Rue du Contentin, Paris XV' copyright credit stamp, Société Paris - Publications reproduction tax receipt stamp with 50c tax stamp affixed to the verso.

By the way.. Moudon... is a region/municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris.

This image has been on the cover of a few books, and used as the marquee image for several worlwide shows on Kertesz.

We're sure they'll have no trouble finding a buyer well above this estimate. Let the games begin!

The Auction is on April 24th at 7pm, and for those who want free drinks on Phillips, the preview party is on Thursday April 12th from 7 to 9pm. See you there!

Oh.. by the way.. Phillips is also having a second Auction of Non-Exceptional Photographs the following day, April 25th, at 10am and 2pm.

Comments

[Kenny T]

Fix your typos, girl!

[Mike]

ooops.. !!

Thanks KennyT...

I hit post when I ment to hit draft.. so was published before I checked it over!!

[Lisa Hunter]

The sale is a strange mix of periods and styles. The only thing they have in common is famous names. It'll be interesting to see how the bidding goes.

[Izzie Egan]

Hi
Just wanted to fire you a message to say I enjoyed reading your blog!
Loved this article! Really quite true and witty!
Kind regards,
Izzie.

[Sam]

A seller's market? If you're name obsessed or need a big name gallery's/auction house' confimration on what is a good image, then yes, but you have any sort of artistic vision you only need to go to the rejected pile at your local 1 hour photo lab to find some great images. check out this book:

Wonder: Rejected Photos Rescued
Rejected Photos Rescued

Mechanical accidents happen in photography. Sometimes the film gets jammed and 36 holiday snaps are captured on one frame, other times the film advancement was not complete or skipped a setting, resulting in a strange cropping or a double exposure. Or perhaps the shutter opened accidentally. Rejected and subsequently separated from their original purpose these images take on a special life of their own, with a particular beauty in their accidental composition. Here a collection of rejected photographs rescued by Erik Kessels, Hans Wolf, André Thijssen and Sabine Verschueren are presented.

Kesselkramer/Idea, 2006, 144pp, softcover, 17 x 24 Dutch/English pb , ISBN: 9070478080

http://www.newmuseumstore.org/listItems.asp?displayType=Down&CurPage=2&dispStart=0&Search=Link&Cat=BOOKS&SubCat=VISUALREF&CatDesc=Books&SubCatDesc=Visual%20Reference

[David B]

What do you think about Christies photo offerings in April?