Photography market [11/14/2005]

The recent burst of price inflation in the photography segment began back in 1999 with the Jammes sale of old photographs and later spread to contemporary clichés. Today the entire "modern photography" market is caught up in the movement. In New York, one record is followed by another.

From 17 to 20 November 2005, at the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris Photo - the most important global art photography fair - will draw 40,000 visitors and host 106 exhibitors. Since the first edition of this event in 1997, the Paris Photo fair has become the primary commercial rendezvous dedicated to photography. All types of photographic expression will be represented at the fair, ranging from historical pieces from the 19th century to contemporary photography. This year the fair will take place just one month after some particularly dynamic sales. In New York, at seven sales over the 6-12 October period, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips generated a combined turnover of USD 28.9 million, an unprecedented figure in the photography segment.

19th century photography: speculation comes to a sudden halt

It took more than a century for the market to recognise and materialise the monetary value of "primitive" photography. Public sales by the Anglo-American auction houses and fairs like Paris Photo have established this market. Today, six years after the initial burst in 1999, prices are finally beginning to settle down

On 27 October 1999, the London branch of Sotheby’s broke a series of new records from the sale of part of a collection belonging to the bookseller André Jammes. That particular sale (the "sale of the century") generated no less than EUR 10 million, a figure previously unheard of in the world of photography! The clichés sold were of an exceptional quality and constitute an unprecedented historical reference. The highlight of the 1999 sale was a landscape photo by Gustave Le Gray, La Grande Vague, Sète, from 1855, which went under the hammer for GBP 460,000 (EUR 718,000). Other prints of the same photograph had previously appeared at auction; but clearly not all prints have the same historical and qualitative interest as the original, and copies sold since have never exceeded the EUR 100,000 mark. The second part of the Jammes Collection that Sotheby's put up for auction in France on 21 and 22 March 2002 confirmed the continuing vitality of the market by generating EUR 11.8 million. In addition, the sale included the works of the photographer Charles Nègre and the oldest photographic print ever produced: created by Nicéphore Niépce, it was snapped up by the French National Library for the tidy sum of EUR 450,000. In May 2003, Christie's managed to reach the half a million (GBP) threshold (or EUR 700,850) by selling 113.Athènes, T(emple) de J(upiter) Olympien pris de l'Est, a daguerrotype by Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey (1804-1892). That sale has remained the record price for "primitive" photography to this day.

Between 1997 and 2002, the explosion of prices on this segment was particularly spectacular: +639%! However, since that speculative sale in 2003, the market has calmed down, even if 2005 prices are still three times higher than in 1997. And in spite of the price inflation, 82% of prints still change hands for less than EUR 10,000. In this price range, the amateur collector can still find a very broad range of clichés created by the big names in primitive photography. The infrequency with which old prints were reproduced adds to their value and preciousness. However three factors appear to count even more than the name, and these are the subject, the condition and the quality of the print. On 3 October last, a Portrait de George Sand by Nadar (1820-1910) was sold for GBP 700 (EUR 1,027) at Bonhams (London). An albumin print on card by Édouard Denis Baldus depicting the Bourse de Paris sold for only EUR 300 at Mathias-Millon-Robert (Paris) on 11 May last. A salt-paper print by Charles Nègres entitled Portrait St Trophine, Arles sold for EUR 2,200 at Lelièvre-Maiche-Paris (Chartres) in January of this year. Whereas individual prints are still affordable, the much rarer complete portfolios tend to command much higher prices. For example, on 30 April 2005, at Lempertz (Cologne), collectors could have acquired a view of the Cathédrale de Mayence by Charles Marville for EUR 700, whereas his complete album entitled L'Ancien Paris sold for EUR 440,000 in 2002!

Modern photography: a bubbling market

In 1999, the Jammes sale kicked off the price explosion on the primitive photography segment. Very soon afterward, in 2000 the market dynamism spread to the contemporary segment with a series of new records. And today, having been excluded from this movement until 2003, modern photography is now enjoying the same effervescence.

The high point so far of this latest wave was reached on 12 October 2005 by the portfolios of Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952): The North American Indian which fetched the astonishing sum of USD 1.2 million at Christie’s, twice the high estimate. This is the first time a portfolio of photographs had been the subject of such high bidding.

Sotheby’s has also been enjoying the wave. Among the highlights of its two sessions dedicated entirely to photography, Sotheby's now holds the all-time price record for a modern photograph (since 10 October) after selling The Breast, a print by Edward Weston (1886-1958) for USD 720,000. Until then, the highest price generated by Edward Weston was USD 410,000 for his Two Shells, a 1927 print that Sotheby’s sold on 17 October 2003. On 11 October, the auctioneer equalled its record of the previous day by selling White Angel Bread Line, a print by Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) for USD 720,000. Prior to this sale, Lange's auction record had been USD 120,000 for her Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California.
Already in back in April, exceptional results had been recorded for works by Diane Arbus. A box of 10 photographs, numbered 23/50 fetched USD 480,000 at Sotheby's. A specialist in portrait photography, Diane Arbus was the first American photographer to be represented at the Venice Biennale in 1972, just a year after her death. According to Artprice, Arbus's price index has soared by almost 600% since 1997. With such enthusiasm for her work, no wonder her no-sales ratio is barely 9%.

These results illustrate the exceptional growth of the modern photography market. According to Artprice data, this segment's price index has risen 88% since October 2001. With prices at current levels, sales volumes on photography auctions have never been as high as those recorded over the last 12 months. The total turnover generated by this sector between 1 November 2004 and 30 October 2005 was EUR 32 million, i.e. 50% higher than over the previous 12 months. It is even 358% higher than the 12 month figure recorded 10 years earlier. In addition, we note that 6 of the 12 highest all-time bids for modern photography works have been recorded since the beginning of 2005!

However, we also note that these developments have for the most part occurred in the United States which accounts for 77% of the photography sales turnover on only 45% of total transactions. This dominance is even more visible on the modern photography segment in which the US has a total market share of 79%.

Contemporary photography: the boom of American photography

In the mid-1990s, paintings were the only medium in the art market that investors considered of any speculative interest. However, the combination of increasing demand and artistic renewal has made other artistic media - such as photography – equally attractive from a financial point of view.

In 2004, 2,000 contemporary photographs changed hands for a total of EUR 29 million. In 1995, this segment of the market consisted of only 350 clichés that generated a total turnover of EUR 1.4 million. The increase in the volume of photographs exchanged was accompanied by a sharp rise in prices. Today, in November 2005, prices are three times higher than in 1995, which is the equivalent of an average annual progression of 11.9% over the period. This makes contemporary photography one of the most buoyant segments of the photography [art]market.

Here are some of the auction records recently set by this segment of the market. In New York, numerous records are being generated by American photographers. The sale of Baronne Lambert's collection at Phillips on 8-9 November 2004 accounted for a good number of these records. Among the most spectacular were the bids for works by Charles Ray (USD 470,000), Cindy Sherman (USD 420,000) and Mike Kelley (USD 360,000). At Sotheby’s, America's Richard Prince set a new record for a contemporary photograph with his triptych Women Looking in the Same Direction (1980) that went under the hammer for an impressive USD 650,000. Prince's prices have risen 741% over the past ten years. For example, The Entertainment Series: Russell sold for USD 75,000 in 2004 compared with only USD 11,500 in 1993. Also, there is the recent Robert Mapplethorpe record: USD 300,000 for American Flag set on 12 October 2005 at Christie’s New York.

The record for a contemporary photograph is actually held by Richard Prince. His Cowboy, a symbol of the Marlboro advertising campaigns, was auctioned US$1.1 million at Christie's during its contemporay art sale on November 8, 2005.

While the market for American photographers has been booming, it has been a very different story for Germany's top photographers. Some, such as Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth or Bernd & Hilla Becher have seen their price indexes depreciate by between 24% and 44% in 2004. Andreas GURSKY, one of the most in-demand artists on the market with his Untitled V, fetching USD 560,000 at Christie’s London in February 2002, is one of the rare exceptions to this trend. After a weak spot in 2003, his price index rose 19% in 2004.

The contemporary photographs exhibited in auction rooms in France are much less sought after than those offered in New York. And when the artist is very well known … there are always a large number of prints available. Whereas in New York one needs to spend an average of EUR 21,688 on a contemporary cliché, in France the average price is EUR 2,869. Among the photographers with the highest profiles at French auctions there a several Americans, with Nan Goldin being the most visible. Between 15 and 20 of her prints come up for sale every year in Paris. In order to acquire one of her 1 metre wide cibachrome prints – in a series of 25 copies – one would expect to pay between EUR 4,000 and EUR 8,000. When the price is set above the EUR 10,000 mark, the piece in question is often bought in, and Goldin's price index has in fact contracted by 30% since 2000. For example, a print from a series of 25 entitled Anthony by the Sea, Brighton, England sold for EUR 10,200 at Wapler in Paris last March compared with EUR 14,178 in 2001 at Cornette de Saint-Cyr (also in Paris). The Parisian auction houses rely mainly on Bruce Weber, Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Vanessa Beecroft or Vik Muniz to generate business on the photography segment. Nevertheless, to illustrate the price differential, the most expensive Robert Mapplethorpe print ever sold in Paris, Femme dénudée, a silvered print (50.2 x 40.3 cm) numbered 2/10, went for only EUR 3,200 in 2004.