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Showing posts with label art collecting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art collecting. Show all posts

Chiara Albertoni's Paintings. That's Right... Paintings.





A loyal reader of mine who has a great collection of art herself, Betsy Wills, brought this Italian photorealism painter to my attention. Given that initially the text was foreign, it actually took me a minute to realize these are paintings, not photographs.

Below are some of her latest works, now showing at Galerie Voss
Text by Maurizio Sciaccaluga


Above: O.T.,Oil on canvas / 2006 / 115 x 75 cm, Sold

Chiara Albertoni's painting is a warning glimpse.
On the one hand, it presents us with direct glimpses of nature, depicted and documented with professional detachment, where the spontaneous and violent transformation of the environment that surrounds us is interpreted as little as possible. On the other hand, it has the appearance and characteristics peculiar to a warning, an exhortation, or a threat.


Above: Il Custode, Oil on canvas / 2006 / 133 x 107 cm

Translated in an artistic form, they echo the fascinating and compact glimpses of naturalists, of those who are still able look, amazed, at the spectacle of snow, of an ancient tree, of a snail shell. Yet at the same time the artist has been able to stage a sort of memento mori, an invocation for help for a world, which right now is having an identity crisis and a crisis of future vision.


Above: HIGH HOPES, oil on canvas - cm 84 x 127

The pictures clearly depict the history of an extremely beautiful universe, yet one that by the very same evidence also appears fragile and in danger of falling apart at any moment. The young artist has personally taken on the commitment issuing a warning about the risks that man is running, making an attempt to give voice to those who have none, shouting out the fears and uneasiness of those who cannot speak or complain.


Above: o.T. (Tulipan Rainbow), Oil on canvas / 2006 / 92 x 133 cm, Sold

She has taken on the burden of the environmental drama in a quiet style, stubborn yet sedate, putting in front of spectators those simple, ordinary and common things, which we might lose at any moment: trees, clean and healthy air, the vibrant ecosystem of a river bed.

In these days of GMOs, stem cells, cloning, laboratory experiments, symbols of man's omnipotence, Albertoni has captured and told the story of the beauty and perfection of nature, ordinary yet always spectacular. It's right there, outside her house, just beyond the corner in a place which separates the city from an as yet uncontaminated countryside. A long line of larches covered to protect them from the winter snow, a cobweb suspended between two thin and distant branches, a blanket of frost which can freeze and immobilise the frenetic activity in the fields.


Above:Spider Falls, Oil on canvas / 2007 / 138 x 92 cm

More than her technical ability, her artistic touch and ability with colours, the work of this artist should be appreciated for her enthusiasm (although veiled by preoccupation). Refined astonishment, helping us to still look at the world and enjoy the small things of life jumps out at us. Amazement pervades every brush stroke, it impregnates every scene, and it saturates every horizon that is painted. It is genuine astonishment which gives us the capacity to observe and grasp the beauty in the things we take for granted, new things in those we have already seen, the macro in the micro, the long term in fleeting moments.


Above: LA STREGA, oil on canvas - cm 174 x 95

Some of the canvases, - depicting tree trunks, which are centuries old, majestic and enduring, or others showing the perfect geometrical forms of snail shells and snow flakes - capture a moment, a vision of time which runs on relentlessly. They suggest how a simple moment can symbolize and capture eternity (the movement of the hands on a clock seem suspended on a background of bright white stultifying snow, where the vision of time, if it moves, does so imperceptibly).

Other pieces grab and hold on to the poetry of the humdrum, the greatness of a small and humble nature which knows how to surprise us and renew itself, regenerating itself every day. The scenes depicting daily walks along the fields of the Vicentino area, which are brought to mind using worn landscapes and mute events visible just outside the house, remind us of poetry and the lessons taught by films such as The Blue Planet and The Microcosms.


Above: Phaleonopsis #2, Oil on canvas / 2005/06 / 114 x 107 cm

You don't need to go too far away to look for and talk about the miracle of life. The most extreme beauty is just a steps' distance away from our sight. All we need is knowledge of how is how to be amazed at still seeing it. The works of this young painter from Veneto cannot be considered a simple, updated renewal of hyperrealism, or merely an Italian application, familiar and intimate, of ideas and solutions already developed in the United States by Franz Gertsch or by Richard Estes. Rather they need to be considered and understood as though they are a worrying documentary, an honest and objective news report, yet one that is hard hitting - about life on earth.


Above: O.T.(Carnivovous), Oil on canvas / 2007 / 97 x 63 cm

Starting with the landscapes within arm's reach. In the works by the American masters, the present is superfluous. Whether the subject is a face or a city, the theme is created involuntarily by a vacuum hidden in something that is too full. These things are absent in Albertoni's work There is no show but only landscape. It is the silence that makes the noise. Only something that is too empty can show up something minuscule. Where there is absolute muteness, where not even a word can be heard, even a syllable can take on the significance of a speech, a song or a poem. The exaggerated white and pitch black cutaway views of hills, the detached and freezing monochrome rendition of trees and horizons, even close-ups, so close as to transform vividly coloured flowers into backgrounds worthy of abstract expressionism are used by the artist to create atmosphere, pathos and suspense.


Above: HUNDRED FOLDS, oil on canvas - cm 93 x 63

Whether this is because of a form that is easy to recognize immediately, or it is because of the absence of colour, or the eternal immobility of the form, all the paintings seem like the scenes from a thriller, frozen at a point where it seems like anything could happen at any time. Nothing actually happens nor will it, but everything is just too calm quiet and still to stay that way forever, and the spectator ends up expecting the unexpected event or arrival, the surprise. And that unexpected event or arrival, that surprise could be a gust of wind along the bare branches of the trees, a bee among the flower petals, a spider walking along the spokes of its architecturally perfect cobweb.


Above: Blackhole, Oil on canvas / 2006 / 84 x 126 cm, Sold

In other words, things which otherwise no one would take note of, no one would consider worthwhile of attention, become the grand and theatrical finale, the turning point, in a painting by Chiara Albertoni. These small things would otherwise slip out of our hands, but the artist wants us to wait for them and understand the final and complete significance of the show. Her paintings explain, once again, how and how often we can take a careful look at the world that awaits us just around the corner.

A little bit about the artist


Chiara Albertoni, above, was born in Padova, in 1979.

After achieving a certificate in Applied Arts at Modigliani Art School PADOVA,in 2004 she obtained the diploma in the Painting Section, at the Schoolof Fine Arts VENICE. She lives and works in Montegaldella - VICENZA.

View her website here.


Better Flock To David Tomb's Next Art Show: Birds Of The Sierra Madre


David Tomb
February 22 - March 22, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, February 22, 6-8pm
Electric Works of San Francisco

David Tomb, the SF/Bay Area artist critically acclaimed for his figurative painting, has a new show at the Electric Works Gallery of San Francisco next spring and the subject matter is.... birds.

Now given all the bird "crap" out there, this may come as no surprise. But what IS surprising is that these are a wonderful departure from most of the 'cutesy cartoon' or 'Victorian' style bird art and crafts that proliferate galleries, the internet's indie art sites, and even retail home decor stores these days.

Using the same interesting style he often employs in his figure paintings, Tomb (rhymes with bomb) mixes detail with innuendo and energetic strokes with precious attention. His birds, colored in an almost Audubon-like veracity sit again half rendered backdrops which both show off the birds and create space that seems boundless, like that of a real birds' habitat.

Suffice it to say, I just love them. And they're nice and BIG. (you really need to see them in person for their detail)
Clearly I'm not the only since many have sold and the show doesn't actually open for 5 months!

Below are the images listed on the gallery's site. The names and descriptions are taken from there as well.


Mob Scene: Steak-backed Oriole, Blue Mockingbird, Yellow Grosbeak, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl,
2007
Gouache, colored pencil, graphite on paper
Overall Dimensions: 30 x 44"


Blue-crowned Motmot, El Triunfo, 2007
Gouache, colored pencil, graphite on paper
Overall Dimensions: 44 x 30"
Sold


Black-throated Magpie-Jay, 2007
Gouache, colored pencil, graphite on paper
Overall Dimensions: 44 x 30"


Ringed Kingfisher, 2007
Gouache, colored pencil, graphite on paper
Overall Dimensions: 44 x 30"



Bat Falcons, 2007
Gouache, colored pencil, graphite on paper
Overall Dimensions: 44 x 30"
Sold


Resplendent Quetzal, Chiapas, 2007
Gouache, colored pencil, graphite on paper
Overall Dimensions: 44 x 30"
Sold


David Tomb
Birds of the Sierra Madre
February 22 - March 22, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, February 22, 6-8pm
Electric Works of San Francisco



So, if you're anywhere in the SF/Bay Area in February, be sure to stop by and see the show .
Attend the opening reception and tell David Laura Sweet sent you!

Better yet, snap up one of his paintings before the show has sold out! See more of David Tomb's work by clicking here.

Great artist + Great Subject = Karin Jurick's Show, Opening Today.



above: Jurick's Patrons of the Avant-Garde (sold)

One of my absolute favorite artists, Karin Jurick, has a show of one of my most favorite subjects; Dogs, opening today in Asheville, NC. In addition to her increasingly popular 'museum watchers' paintings, her paintings of dogs are getting scooped up before you can say "woof".

Believe it or not, only ONE of the paintings from her Dogs Rule series is still available (see below) and the show hasn't even opened!


Above: 6" x 6" oil on masonite and framed in a black floater frame, A dog karin spotted in Decatur, Georgia.

The rest are already sold (all are oil on masonite measuring 6"x 6" and framed in a black float frame). But, if you aren't one of the lucky purchasers, nor are you able to attend her show in North Carolina, enjoy them here:


"Chip"


2 dogs she spotted at the Decatur Arts festival


A pair of basset hounds in Manhattan


The late and great Dewey, her friend's dog


A red Hound found in Piedmont Park, Atlanta


A Yorkie on Michigan Avenue, Chicago


Karin's own adorable Petey


...and her happy dog, Jack


Above: 16 Patton Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina

where: 16 Patton Gallery
what: “The People I See”
When: July 5th - August 1st.

Opening Reception will be Saturday, July 7th from 6-8 pm.


In addition to being a talented painter, Karin is obviously a dog-lover. When I asked her if I could do a post on her Dogs Rule series and show, she replied humbly and added "i think i could paint dogs every single day and be happy."

See her own 2 adorable pooches below:

Above: Karin's dogs; Petey and Jack

For those of you who don't read this blog regularly I was the fortunate recipient of one of Karin's dog paintings in honor of my late companion, Abbey (see below).


above: Karin's tribute painting of my late doggy, Abbey

I have been collecting Karin's work for years now and have a fondness for her heart as well as her art.

The show does not only have her dog paintings but also includes several other wonderful pieces. Go see it if you're anywhere near North Carolina this month. You won't be sorry.

Karin Jurick

Can't Afford To Spend 100 Million Bucks? How About $10,000? For The Love Of God Silkscreens by Damien Hirst.




A few weeks ago, Damian Hirst's latest creation graced the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine (as well as getting coverage on many a blog). The subject was his latest creation, the world's most expensive piece of art. A life sized platinum skull set with diamonds.

This article reprinted below by William Shaw accompanied the piece:

It’s particularly fitting that the title of Damien Hirst’s new headline-grabbing work came from an exasperated exclamation of his mother’s: “For the love of God, what are you going to do next?”

The answer, pictured here, is a life-size platinum skull set with 8,601 high-quality diamonds. If, as expected, it sells for around $100 million this month, it will become the single most expensive piece of contemporary art ever created. Or the most outrageous piece of bling.

At home in Devon, Hirst insists it’s absolutely the former. “I was very worried for a while, because if it looked like bling — tacky, garish and over the top — we would have failed. But I’m very pleased with the end result. I think it’s ethereal and timeless.”

For Hirst, famous pickler of sharks and bovine bisector, all his art is about death. This piece, which was cast from an 18th-century skull he bought in London, was influenced by Mexican skulls encrusted in turquoise. “I remember thinking it would be great to do a diamond one — but just prohibitively expensive,” he recalls. “Then I started to think — maybe that’s why it is a good thing to do. Death is such a heavy subject, it would be good to make something that laughed in the face of it.”

The dazzle of the diamonds might outshine any meaning Hirst attaches to it, and that could be a problem. Its value as jewelry alone is preposterous. Hirst, who financed the piece himself, watched for months as the price of international diamonds rose while the Bond Street gem dealer Bentley & Skinner tried to corner the market for the artist’s benefit. Given the ongoing controversy over blood diamonds from Africa, “For the Love of God” now has the potential to be about death in a more literal way.

“That’s when you stop laughing,” Hirst says. “You might have created something that people might die because of. I guess I felt like Oppenheimer or something. What have I done? Because it’s going to need high security all its life.”

The piece is not exactly the stuff of public art, but Hirst says he hopes that an institution like the British Museum might put it on display for a while before it disappears into a vault, never to be seen again. Whether the piece is seen or not, Hirst will likely go down in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most extravagant artist.

“I hadn’t thought about that!” he suddenly snorts with laughter. “I deal with that with all my work. The markup on paint and canvas is a hell of a lot more than on this diamond piece.”

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At the going rate of 100 million dollars, chances are you won't be buying it.

But now, a London gallery is selling limited edition prints of this piece, still pricey at 10,000+ USD, but a mere pittance compared to $100,000,000.00

In conjunction with Damien Hirst’s exhibition ‘Beyond Belief’, White Cube Gallery announce the release of eight new limited edition works.

These works include a series of silkscreens depicting Hirst’s extraordinary diamond skull ‘For the Love of God’, a life-size cast of a human skull in platinum, covered entirely by 8,601 VVS to flawless pavé-set diamonds. In addition to these silkscreens there are three works on canvas, each with paracetamol pills and syringes. These relate closely to the new series of ‘Fact’ and ‘Biopsy’ paintings which focus upon issues surrounding Western medicine, and continue Hirst’s long standing interest in the themes of life and death.




Want one of your own? Click here

A little about DAMIAN HIRST:
Damien Hirst was born in Bristol, England in 1965. While still a student at Goldsmith's College in 1988, he curated the now renowned student exhibition, Freeze, held in east London. In this exhibition, Hirst brought together a group of young artists who would come to define cutting-edge contemporary art in the 1990s. In 1991, he had his first solo exhibition at the Woodstock Street Gallery, entitled In and Out of Love, in which he filled the gallery with hundreds of live tropical butterflies, some of which were hatched from the monochrome canvases that hung the walls. In 1992, he was part of the ground breaking Young British Artists exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. In this show, he exhibited his now famous Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a tiger shark in a glass tank of formaldehyde. That same year he was nominated for the prestigious Tate Gallery Turner Prize, and later won that coveted award in 1995.

Hirst's best known works are his paintings, medicine cabinet sculptures, and glass tank installations. For the most part, his paintings have taken on two styles. One is an arrangement of color spots with titles that refer to pharmaceutical chemicals, known as Spot paintings. The second, his Spin paintings, are created by centrifugal force, when Hirst places his canvases on a spinner, and pours the paint as they spin. In the medicine cabinet pieces Hirst redefines sculpture with his arrangements of various drugs, surgical tools, and medical supplies. His tank pieces, which contain dead animals, that are preserved in formaldehyde, are another kind of sculpture and directly address the inevitable mortality of all living beings. All of Hirst's works contain his ironic wit, and question art's role in contemporary culture.

Hirst's first exhibition with Gagosian Gallery, entitled No Sense of Absolute Corruption, was in 1996 at the now-closed SoHo location in New York. Superstition is Damien Hirst's first show at the Beverly Hills space.

For the Official Damien Hirst Website, click here.

Graffiti Art Becoming Hot Property



Graffiti art- From the street to the museum [May 07]

This article has been reprinted from artprice.com, the leader in the art market:

Historically, graffiti was a underground movement, born to the Hip-Hop rhythm in the American ‘hoods of the 1970s. It is people’s art, rough and ephemeral. Rough because it was created illegally in public spaces. Ephemeral because its lifespan, subject to external constraints, is necessarily limited. The prohibitions which hit this urban art right from its beginnings in Europe could not stop its expansion during the 1980s. At the end of the decade it had become a veritable fashion phenomenon, in the press and on museum walls. Aside from urban buildings, street furniture and public transport, the graffiti artists created works on canvas, paper or street hoardings which are now prized by a growing number of collectors.

The pioneers


above: A Basquiat serigraph

The unquestioned star of the genre is Jean-Michel BASQUIAT who is racking up million-ticket sales (more than forty). On 15 May last, a mixed-medium 1981 work smashed the artist's record in crossing the 10 million dollar mark! Initially estimated at between 6 million and 8 million dollars, the hammer went down on the lot at 13 million dollars (more than 9.6 million euros, Sotheby’s NY). Warhol’s friend with the fleeting destiny (he died at 27 years) signed his first works in the street under the pseudonym Samo. Today a small pencil or graphite drawing changes hands for between 10,000 and 20,000 euros on average and you'll need between 50,000 and 100,000 euros for a paper-based work in crayon. Prices are higher still for large formats in ink or oil pastel.


above: A Keith Haring silkscreen

Another Warhol accolyte, Keith HARING, is also a key graffiti name. He doesn’t reach the heights of Basquiat but has shown steady growth over the last four years. On 8 February last, you'd have needed not less than £56,000 to secure a small 1984 acrylic (50x50 cm) at Sotheby’s London. The same day, Sotheby’s competitor set a new record of £440,000 for a 1983 canvas (Christie’s London).

The more affordable FUTURA 2000 is one of the pioneers of urban painting which he created instinctively on the walls of Brooklyn as of the 1970s. Only 3 works from the graffiti artist have been put up for auction in ten years! The latest, an untitled acrylic and aerosol painting on a plank of wood, found a buyer for 4,000 euros in October at Artcurial who will auction a spray-painted graffiti canvas entitled Bar code (1983, 137 x 181 cm) for an estimate of between 4,000 and 5,000 euros.


above: A 1963 John Perello acrylic painting, All Are One

Graffiti art becomes sought after in France

The auction house Artcurial will auction around twenty works by American and French graffiti artists on 6 June. The sale catalogue lists the works together in a section called ‘Graffiti and post-graffiti art’: never before has a French auction house given the genre so much credit! The sale’s headline piece is the large-scale Match Point, Ephemeral Hospital, 1993 (214.5 x 190 cm) by John PERELLO, aka Jonone estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000 euros. Highly vibrant and colourful, this work takes liberties with the masters of abstract art such as Kandinsky, Pollock and de Kooning.

With these twenty lots going for estimates averaging between 5,000 and 10,000 euros, the art lover can set his or her heart on the large canvases with cartoon references signed John Matos CRASH or ASH II. There is a wide choice of works for between 1,000 and 5,000 euros: a Jonone sized at close to a metre, the abstract graffitis by SHARP, Chris Ellis DAZE, KOOR or a surreal graphic canvas by Alex/Mac-Crew. For less than 1,000 euros, one might hope to secure the spray-painted canvases by Sonic or Hondo and for a low-end estimate of 100 euros an untitled work combining several media on a plywood panel signed Thierry CHEVERNEY.

In two years, graffiti artists have seen their prices double: is the street phenomenon moving to the auction room?

Karin Jurick Continues To Impress Me

Karin Jurick is not only one of my favorite painters, she's one of my favorite people.

A beautiful woman, both inside and out (she no longer posts her picture on her blog, but I've seen it and she's so pretty), Karin's work is increasing in popularity and critical acclaim. I simply needed to put this up because I was so touched by the gesture. Please keep in mind, I've never even met Karin in person, but have long been in touch with her via e-mails since discovering her fabulous work and becoming a collector. Once she read my blog and saw that my dog, Abbey, who was recently diagnosed as terminally ill, suffered a stroke a little over a week ago, and is now nearing the end of her 14 years, she actually painted a portrait of her and sent it to me as a gift!

 Look!



  I am touched beyond belief and wanted to share it with you all. It's people like Karin who make this world a better place, with both her work and her compassion.

Be sure to see her beautiful work at her site here

CA Boom 4: West Coast Independent Design Show


Exhibitor Reservations for CA Boom 4 Now Being Reviewed

CA Boom 4: March 30 to April 1, 2007 at a new and larger location, Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport. One hundred plus participating exhibitors will showcase what's next in how we live and how we work. Specific areas in the show include: prefab, fine furnishings, indoor/outdoor living, surfaces and finishes, and modern parenting.

2/8/07 CA Boom 4: THE WEST COAST INDEPENDENT DESIGN SHOW registration and tickets now on sale.



What else is new this year?
Dozens of national and international manufacturers are joining CA Boom’s core lineup of boutique design exhibitors. CA Boom 4 majors and mini-majors include Herman Miller, ducduc, Fleetwood Windows & Doors, Neo Metro and Nana Wall Systems, Inc.

This year, our show floor is divided into distinct zones including Prefab, Fine Furnishings, Materials, Surfaces & Finishes, Modern Parenting, Giftware & Accessories, Indoor/Outdoor Living and First-Timers.


Special Prices on Santa Monica Hotels, Airfare & Airport Shuttles. Travel & Housing

For the first time, Friday will be a “trade day” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., open to qualified design & building trade members.

The famous CA Boom Opening Night party moves to Friday Night, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m., with an open bar, DJ's and full access to the show floor ($45).

Don't miss the debut of the “Modern Parenting” zone, spotlighting sophisticated furniture and accessories for children of design-conscious parents. Participants include Scandinavian Child, Inc., ducduc, Elevate Home and Nurseryworks.


Returning this year is the overwhelmingly successful PREFAB ZONE, the only place on the planet where prospective buyers of Modernist Prefab can actually comparison shop prefab manufacturers who are ready and able to deliver product. Participants include Living Homes, Clever Homes, Marmol Radziner Prefab, Sander Architects, kitHAUS, and Alchemy's weeHouse.

Don't miss our Design + Architecture Tours, where architects actually give tours of 15 cutting edge projects, 5 per day ($75 per day, includes Expo Hall admission).

Santa Monica: Friday March 30th • Venice: Saturday March 31st • Mar Vista/West LA: Sunday April 1st.

CA Boom exhibitors are invited to participate because of their innovation, design sensibility and category leadership. Each year, we also invite a select group of noteworthy up-and-comers. Many of our exhibitors are showcasing World and North American debuts at the show.

CA Boom 4 still has space to accommodate a few additional exhibitors who are a good fit. Interested? Go here.

Photojournalism: Value Keeps On Rising


Above is Robert Doisneau's most well-known photo

Art Market Insight [Feb 2007]
Art investment
Photojournalism - Collective memory and photography [Feb 07]


The above graph is from Artprice.com

The photojournalism market is booming.
Turnover at auction has risen by more than 250% in 10 years, and the trend is strong in the USA, France and the UK. For many years photojournalism was considered a secondary form of art, much like scientific or ethnographic photography. Since the 1950s however it has become well established, partly thanks to World Press Photo, with its annual contest celebrating the year’s best journalistic photographs, and a number of exhibitions underlining the news photo’s dual role as documentary testimony and aesthetic artefact.

The great names of photojournalism, Cecil BEATON, Henri CARTIER-BRESSON, Robert CAPA, Raymond DEPARDON, Robert DOISNEAU, Walker EVANS, Dorothea LANGE and Marc RIBOUD, all documented their times through sensitive images of undeniable cultural significance. Many of these are now finding their way into cultural institutions, prized for a combination of the iconic value of the shots and the photographers’ commitment, as well as aesthetic considerations (definition of the image, framing, etc.).

In the 1930s, Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange were hired by the US Farm Security Administration and produced a magisterial record of rural poverty during the New Deal. Their index has outstripped that of the French photographers in an astonishing rally: Walker Evans’s index has more than doubled since 2005 and Lange’s has tripled since 2004.


Dorothea Lange's White Angel Breadline

The highest priced photojournalism picture ever is White Angel Bread Line by Lange (see above image), which captures the depth of America’s crisis between the wars. On October 11, 2005, Sotheby’s NY knocked down the print for USD 720,000 (nearly EUR 600,000).

Another print of the same subject was offered at New York’s Phillips, de Pury & Company sale on October 19, but this one, from around 1955, failed to command the same interest and sold for its high estimate of USD 45,000 (EUR 35,897). Prior to that, the highest price paid at auction for a photograph was a relatively modest USD 120,000 for Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (October 22, 2002, Christie’s NY).

Despite these record sales, though, around half the Lange and Evans pictures that come up are later prints and can be bought for less than EUR 5,000.


The above photo by Robert Capa is one of his most famous (Picasso and Francoise Gilot)

Naturalised American Robert Capa, joint-founder of the Magnum agency along with Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour and George Rodger, carried his camera through the Spanish civil war in 1936. There, he captured live the Death of a Republican Soldier, an image that was picked up and reprinted worldwide and came to symbolise this war in the collective memory. Despite the picture’s fame, subsequent prints are often bought in. Photojournalism collectors are highly selective and would rather pay EUR 5,000 or EUR 10,000 for a contemporary print than bid up a print from a later historical period than its subject.

Two years after that, Capa reported on the second Sino-Japanese war for Life, before going on to record the allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Mingling with the soldiers, he took 119 pictures of which 108 were accidentally destroyed by an unfortunate Life lab worker. Auction houses regularly put up D-Day images printed between 1960 and 1990.

These tend to find buyers for an average EUR 3,000 to EUR 7,000. Oddly, Capa’s records at auction were not set by images stemming from his committed journalism but by two self-portraits taken around 1938 that went for three times their estimate at EUR 15,000 to EUR 17,000 in April 2003 (at Phillips, De Pury & Luxembourg, April 25, 2003, New York).


The above photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson now sells for roughly $15,000.00

Cartier-Bresson prices have risen sharply since his death in 2004. Enthusiasts rushed to buy his pictures and the rate of bought-in prints fell from 50% in 2002 to 10% in 2004.

While the majority of transactions range between EUR 1,000 and EUR 5,000, his work generated record sales at auctions in 2005. Christie’s sold On the banks of the Marne for USD 110,000 on October 10, 2005 (EUR 90,827). The photo depicts a picturesque picnic scene along the Marne River and shows the changing French society of the 1930s. It dates from 1938, just two years after the French won the right to annual holidays. The print itself is a later version (1955), and collectors – who are demanding about print dates – tend to prefer vintage prints dating from between 1930 and 1950. Prices fall steeply for 1970s and 1980s reprints to between EUR 4,000 and EUR 7,000.

The Luxembourg-born American emigrant Edward Steichen was director of aerial photography for the allied forces during World War I. However, he spent most of his career working on portraits of well-known figures (Garbo, Churchill, etc.) and genre scenes. He is popular among Americans, and most of his works were selling for between EUR 1,000 and EUR 10,000 even before his index began a spectacular rally in 2005 (+240%). On February 14, 2006, his photo of Rodin’s Balzac reached USD 550,000 (EUR 462,330) setting a new record at Sotheby’s New York. Steichen's photo engravings are less popular. Collectors can buy a “piece of history” for less than EUR 1,000.

Today, the boundaries between photo-reportage and art photography are becoming blurred, as visual artists such as Sophie Ristelhueber, Paul Seawright and Jean-Luc Moulène move onto what was previously considered journalistic territory.

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