Christie's New York Photographs Sale Achieves a Total of $4,776,125
115% HAMMER SOLD ABOVE ESTIMATE
JUSTIN AVERSANO’S TWIN FLAMES – FIRST NFT TO BE SOLD IN A PHOTOGRAPHS AUCTION – REALIZES $1,100,000
ANSEL ADAMS’ MOONRISE, HERNANDEZ, NEW MEXICO ACHIEVES $930,000—
HIGHEST PRICE AT AUCTION FOR THE ICONIC IMAGE
New York – Wednesday, October 6, 2021, Christie’s New York Photographs auction at Rockefeller Center saw successful results throughout, achieving a total of $4,776,125. The first lot of the sale Twin Flames #83 by Justin Aversano comprised one NFT accompanied by 100 chromogenic prints. Marking the first time an NFT has been on offer in a Photographs sale, the work experienced high levels of interest from clients in the room and on the telephones. After four minutes of competitive bidding, the work sold for $1,100,000 – over ten times its low estimate – to a buyer in the room. The auction also saw a landmark result for Ansel Adams’ Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941, which exceeded its high estimate to sell for $930,000, the highest price ever seen at auction for this icon image. Strong performances were also seen by Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy.
Darius Himes, Christie’s International Head of Photographs, remarks: “Today’s auction reaffirms the significance of photography as a force in the art space. In the work of Justin Aversano, we see a young artist in love with the medium of photography who has concurrently built a vibrant community of NFT collectors and supporters in the digital space. This result of $1,110,000—breaking the million dollar mark—signals that not only does a younger generation of collectors love photography but they are willing to collect it. The next two top lots—by Ansel Adams ($930,000) and Diane Arbus ($625,000)—are powerhouse works that clearly stand the test of time.”
