June 24, 2010

NYC Polaroid photo auction

A sale of more than 1,000 prints of 20th-century photography fetched over $12 million in New York, with the highest individual price going to Ansel Adams’ “Clearing Winter Storm”.

Adams’ “Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park,” a moody black-and-white mural-size print of the park’s rugged, rocky terrain, sold for $722,500 on Monday. It shattered the previous auction record of $609,600 for his “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico,” from 1941, set in 2006.

“Clearing Winter Storm” had been estimated to sell for $300,000 to $500,000.

posted by in art, economics, history, photography | * | 19 comments 

comments

  1. Sheila Ryan on June 24th, 2010 at 12:42 pm

    This was a controversial auction, but it may be that all’s well that ends well. Somewhere on the order of seventy-five or so photographers (around five per cent of all those whose work is included in the Polaroid Collection) were represented, and I think five of those seventy-five were among a group of artists who objected fiercely to the sale. (See this August 2009 post for the background.)

    But yesterday an attorney for some of those artists (a group including, I believe, Chuck Close) said that “the photographers’ concerns with the auction have been resolved, and it is hoped an institutional placement can be achieved for the balance of the Polaroid Collection.” I hope that’s not an idle hope.

  2. Deron Bauman on June 24th, 2010 at 12:51 pm

    thanks for the context, Sheila.

  3. Sheila Ryan on June 24th, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    I’m your go-to girl for context.

  4. Deron Bauman on June 24th, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    and memory.

  5. Sheila Ryan on June 24th, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    Well, you know what they say. A memory is only as real as the last time you remembered it.

  6. Deron Bauman on June 24th, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    I remembered it differently today.

  7. Sheila Ryan on June 24th, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    And it will be different if you remember it tomorrow.

  8. Deron Bauman on June 24th, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    I forget.

  9. Sheila Ryan on June 24th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    That’s why I’m here. To remember for you. Differently. Each and every time.

  10. Deron Bauman on June 24th, 2010 at 1:46 pm

    like clockwork.

  11. Phil Bebbington on June 24th, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    A friend from a forum I frequent sent for several catalogues for this sale. I bought one – the quality and variety of work is wonderful if you will allow me to exclude Robert Mappelthorpe!

  12. Deron Bauman on June 24th, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    Phil, if you have time to do scans, I’d love to see some of them posted.

  13. Phil Bebbington on June 24th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    Deron, let me look at the forum. I’m sure that someone posted a PDF of the whole catalogue – it is stunning!

  14. Phil Bebbington on June 24th, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    I hope that this gives a good idea of the catalogue!

  15. Cindy Scroggins on June 24th, 2010 at 5:07 pm

    Thank you, Phil. This is wonderful.

  16. Phil Bebbington on June 24th, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    I know you can buy the catalogues from Sothebys. I’d say well worth every penny. It is quite a tome.

    In Canada, call 1-800-263-1774

    USA, 212-606-7000

    The quality is outstanding.

  17. Deron Bauman on June 24th, 2010 at 5:21 pm

    thank you, Phil. downloading now.

  18. Rick Neece on June 24th, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    Wow! Phil. I love how the artists I’m familiar with show themselves in this medium. A medium (photography) some of them aren’t known for.

  19. NYC Polaroid Photo Auction Catalogue : clusterflock on June 25th, 2010 at 10:45 am

    [...] in comments, Phil linked to the Sotheby’s catalogue for the recent Polaroid Collection auction. For those [...]

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