Photographs: highlights of 2003

Photographs: 2003 highlights [janv. 04]

After making spectacular gains in the 1990s, the photography market is now facing an unprecedented crisis. The areas suffering the most are those previously most successful, i.e. old and contemporary works. The speculative bubble that buoyed them for five years has just burst and only quality pieces are now finding a buyer.

The proceeds from photograph sales declined by a further 10% in 2003 on the back of a sharp contraction in auction sales (-16% on 2002), a high no-sales ratio (in 2003, 39% of lots were bought in) and lower prices. But it could have been worse (see AMI of 7 October 2003) and disaster was only averted thanks to some exceptional bids.

Photographs price growth
Price index base 1996 = 100

Though mid-range photographs were hard to sell, the top end of the market saw some exciting battles between bidders. In an extremely selective market, prestige pieces continue to be snapped up, largely in the US. At the very top of the range, Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg made its presence felt, holding two of the year’s best photography auctions on 24-26 April and 16-18 October 2003. These New York auctions alone accounted for almost 15% of world photography turnover, and numerous records were set, notably for Richard Prince (USD 410,000 for Cowboy (1999)), Diane Arbus (USD 360,000 for Untitled (1962-1970)) and Matthew Barney (USD 230,000 for Cremaster 5: Elvàlàs (1997)).

Photographs : Top 10 auction records 2003 ArtistLotSaleGIRAULT DE PRANGEY J. P. (1804-1892)€ 700,850 ($ 816,750) : «113.Athènes, T(emple) de J(upiter) Olympien pris de l’Est» (1842)20/05/2003 (London, Christie’s)GIRAULT DE PRANGEY J. P. (1804-1892) € 490,595€ ($ 571,725) : «196.Karnac, Pylône près de l’O(uest)» (1842-1843)20/05/2003 (London, Christie’s)GIRAULT DE PRANGEY J. P. (1804-1892)€ 392,476 ($ 457,380) : «9.Rome, Colonne Trajane» (1842)20/05/2003 (London, Christie’s)GURSKY Andreas (1955)€ 364,854 ($ 420,000) : Chicago, Board of Trade (1997)12/11/2003 (New-York, Sotheby’s)PRINCE Richard (1949)€ 356,167 ($ 410,000) : Cowboy (1999)13/11/2003 (New-York, Phillips, De Pury & Luxembourg)WESTON Edward (1886-1958)€ 353,707 ($ 410,000) : Two Shells (1927)17/10/2003 (New-York, Sotheby’s)GURSKY Andreas (1955)$ 356,864 ($ 410,000) : Klitschko (1999)15/05/2003 (New-York, Phillips, De Pury & Luxembourg)STRUTH Thomas (1954)$ 316,206 ($ 367,950) : «Pantheon, Rom» (1990)21/10/2003 (London, Sotheby’s)ARBUS Diane (1923-1971)€ 310,572 ($ 360,000) : Untitled (1962-1970)17/10/2003 (New-York, Phillips, De Pury & Luxembourg)PRINCE Richard (1949)€ 286,671 ($330,000) : Spiritual America (1983)13/11/2003 (New-York, Phillips, De Pury & Luxembourg)

The highest bid in 2003 was at Christie’s London, where 113. Athènes, T(emple) de J(upiter) Olympien pris de l’Est, a daguerreotype by Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey (1804-1892), was knocked down at GBP 500,000 on 20 May 2003 (see AMI of 28 May 2003). In the process, this auction broke the record for a photograph, just beating the record set in October 1999 for Gustave Le Gray’s La Grande Vague, Sète (1855). Once again, a vintage photograph ranked amongst the highest bids in the photography segment.
Professional buyers and collectors, concerned about the flood of vintage photographs coming onto the market, are now increasingly demanding guarantees of authenticity, and are quick to reject second-rate works. In 2002, only 52% of photographs put up for auction in France found a buyer, compared with 92% in 1998. Sellers sometimes have over-ambitious expectations and on top of that, the market is also drying up. Apart from the auction dedicated to Girault de Prangey, no significant collections were broken up in 2003 (cf. the Jammes collection in 1999 (see AMI of 7 August 2002)). It is difficult to get hold of a pristine Le Gray or Baldus photograph. At the same time, over 50% of Gustave Le Gray’s works are now bought in. As most prints are knocked down well below their estimates, buyers are no longer fighting in the auction rooms. The absence of competitive bidding caused vintage photograph prices to plummet by 66% in 2003. As this decline followed five years of phenomenal rises, the segment still enjoyed an average annual increase of 9% in 1997-2003. Vintage works remain very profitable as a medium-term investment.

The contemporary photography segment has suffered a similar fate. Prices rocketed 70% in 1997-2000 but have been on a downward spiral ever since, dropping 30% in 2003. Works by the biggest names are coming up for auction too often, only to be shunned by collectors (see AMI of 4 August 2003). Only major works by Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruth and Cindy Sherman are sought after (see AMI du of May 2002). But record bids have not been enough to redeem these artists, especially as only 1.6% of contemporary photographs fetch in excess of EUR 100,000. The indices of almost all the market’s leading lights ended the year lower. German photographer Thomas Struth’s market is a good example. Although he broke his record with Pantheon, Rome (GBP 220,000 on 21 October 2003 at Sotheby’s, London), many of his works are selling for much less than a year or two ago. For example, a print of Boats at Wushan, Yangtse River Wushan found a buyer in the region of EUR 30,000 in February 2003, despite selling for over EUR 57,000 in May 2002. Zhejiang zhoug for Shangai was knocked down at EUR 3,290 and EUR 3,700 in 2003, half its sale price in 2000. The upshot is that Struth’s index declined by nearly 20% in 2003.

By contrast, modern photographs remain safe investments. The market is stable and has missed out on both speculative inflation and the 2003 crisis. All the same, the segment’s turnover still advanced by 5% on 2002 and 2001. The rise was fuelled by some attractive auctions of historic and vintage photographs (such as those from the Breton and James J. Rochlis collections), and by records including USD 180,000 for William Eggleston’s Memphis (circa 1970), USD 170,000 for Walker Evans’ Penny Picture Display, Savannah (1936) and EUR 130,000 for Hans Belmer’s “La poupée”, (1936-1938). Edward Weston was one of the top performers—his index has more than doubled in the space of 12 months and he set a new record in October 2003 with Two Shells (1927), which went under the hammer at USD 410,000 (see AMI of 7 November 2003). At the end of the season, a few high-profile results in New York were offset by more cautious bidding in Germany and France. These countries account for almost 50% of turnover in the modern photography market.

Distribution by art period

Distribution by country

Distribution by price level