Contributors
Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
Photography
Eisenstadt’s ‘Kiss In Times Square’ Leica To Sell
April 22, 2013Better than any other, the image conveyed America’s joy and relief at the end of World War II. Now the Leica camera that famed photographer Alfred Eisenstadt used to capture a couple kissing in Times Square will be offered for sale in a German auction. When the Leica III rangefinder crosses the block at WesttLicht’s Photographica auction on May 24 in Vienna, it’s expected to sell for $26,000-$32,000.
Read more...Christie’s Luxury Week
December 10, 2012Closing out its 2012 season, Christie’s will offer a Luxury Week series of sales, beginning today with an event in New York devoted to jewels, led by a 50.01 carat diamond ring by Graff, (est. $7m-$10m). In tomorrow’s sale, Christie’s will auction a collection of furniture, fine and decorative art from the estate of legendary director Billy Wilder, and in coming days, there will be sales, six in all, devoted to watches, wine, and 20th century design.
Read more...Curtis Photos Of Native Americans May Fetch $3m
December 04, 2012Many of the images are burned into the American psyche, photos by Edward S. Curtis of Native Americans and their way of life just before it disappeared forever. Curtis dedicated 30-years to his work. Fewer than 300 20-volume sets of 1500 hand printed pictures were produced for subscription. Heritage will auction this set on Dec.11. An auction spokesman said it is believed to be the last in private hands. Earlier a similar set sold for nearly $3m.
Read more...Another Leica Auction, More Records
November 27, 2012Just a few days after a circa-1930 Leica Luxus 1 realized almost $1m in Hong Kong, another vintage Leica once owned by American photographer David Douglas Duncan has sold for $2.19m at an auction in Vienna. The 1955 black M3D, built especially for Duncan by the factory, was one of only four manufactured and set a record for a commercially produced camera.
Read more...PBA Offers Bradford’s “Arctic Regions” Folio
August 30, 2012The painter William Bradford was fascinated with the arctic. In the mid-1870’s he led a sailing expedition to Greenland with 2 photographers. With sketches and photos he returned to London to create spectacular leather bound folios comprising 141 photos and text. PBA is offering one of those folios at its sale in San Francisco next month. High estimate, $180,000.
Read more...Native American Photos May Sell For $1.7m
August 24, 2012Edward S. Curtis’ photography is an extraordinary record of Native Americans who were vanishing before his lens. J.P. Morgan and his son financed the production of 500 sets of 2222 photos and 20 volumes of text. A complete set of “The North American Indian” will be sold by Swann Galleries on October 4th. High estimate, $1,750,000.
Read more...Poland Auctions Swindler’s Hollywood Photos
July 23, 2012In the 1990s, a Chicago businessman was convicted of cheating Poland out of millions. His fabulous photo collection of Hollywood stars was handed over. Now Poland is going to auction its pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Sinatra, Grant, Newman, Dietrich, Hitchcock, Hepburn and Brando. They’ll go on display next month. They hope to recoup $680,000 with the first batch.
Read more...Negative From Lincoln’s Last Studio Sitting Offered
June 20, 2012Certainly not a handsome politician, but Abraham Lincoln’s worn, friendly face is burned into the American psyche. He sat often for Alexander Gardner and the collodion negative from the President’s last studio sitting 8-weeks before he was murdered comes to Cowan’s American History auction tomorrow. High estimate is $60,000.
Read more...Largest-Scale Photography Book Ever Produced
June 11, 2012British photographer Francis Frith didn’t travel light on his 1858 trip to Egypt. His kit included huge cameras, masses of equipment, and even a mobile darkroom. What resulted was one of the most remarkable books of photographs ever produced, containing 20 views, each measuring 30 x 21 inches, of Egypt, Sinai and Jerusalem. The book, considered the largest with the biggest, non-enlarged prints ever assembled, is expected to fetch $77,500-$108,500 at Bonhams’ Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs sale in London on June 12.
Read more...$31,000 For Beatles’ “Backward” Photo
May 24, 2012Fans know the cover of Abbey Road features the Beatles crossing the zebra crosswalk, Paul with a cigarette and, for some reason, barefoot. But the photographer also shot them crossing in the other direction, where Paul ditched the cigarette and put on sandals. After vigorous bidding, that “backward” photo sold for $31,000 at Bloomsbury’s in London.
Read more...What’s The World’s Most Expensive Camera?
May 14, 2012An anonymous buyer paid a record $2.8m for a 1923 Leica camera this past weekend in Vienna. The ultra-rare O-Series was one of just 12 surviving test versions that Leica produced before introducing the series commercially in 1925. The final price was some 7 times higher than the estimate.
Read more...Images Of Scott’s Expedition To South Pole
May 11, 2012Herbert George Ponting was a pioneering photographer of polar landscapes, who accompanied Captain Robert Falcon Scott on his ill-fated Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole (1910-1913). During his 14 months with Scott, Ponting took over 1,000 photographs documenting every aspect of the journey. Three of these images, each of which is estimated at $4,800-$8,000, will be featured at Bonhams Photography Sale on May 17th in London.
Read more...The Most Expensive Photograph Ever Sold?
March 27, 2012Few, least of all the curators at Christie’s, will be surprised if Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled #96,” more popularly known as “Orange Sweater” sets a world record for the artist when it goes on sale in New York on May 8th. If the print’s final price exceeds the $4.3m paid last year for Andreas Gursky’s photograph of the Rhine, however, Sherman’s “Orange” will become the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction.
Read more...Steiglitz Collection Soars Past Estimates
March 23, 2012The 1915 image by Alfred Steiglitz had an estimate of just $10,000-$20,000 at a recent auction at Leland Little in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Instead, “View From Studio,” one of seven photographs from the Rhoades Collection, wound up selling for $519,200, including fees, more than 25 times its high estimate.
Read more...Photographs From Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts
March 21, 2012Over the years, since the mid-1920′s when it began exhibiting photographs, Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts has acquired a very substantial collection of images, which they’ve recently decided to trim, eliminating duplicates, variants, or works that closely resemble others in their possession. On April 5 in New York, Christie’s will auction these de-accessioned photographs. “Black and White ‘Vogue’ Cover,” a 1950 image by Irving Penn, leads the sale, in which it’s estimated at $200,000-$300,000.
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