The Photographs department at Christie’s sources and supports the sale of works from the entire history of the medium and utilizes a range of auction platforms globally. Christie’s is proactively expanding the photographs market as it integrates into the broader art market. Our traditional twice annual auction of photographs from various owners continues to occur in both New York and Paris, in the spring and fall. We are now also finding great success through our pioneering efforts to place major photographic works in the wide variety of 20/21 Century Art Evening and Day sales.
In recent years, the Photographs team has broken numerous world records including, notably, the long-standing record for the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction, achieved with Man Ray’s Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924 which sold for $12,412,500 in 2022. We’ve also broken artist records in recent years for works by Diane Arbus; William Eggleston; Richard Avedon; El Lissitzky, Helmut Newton, Edward Steichen and Man Ray, achieving results over one-million dollars for each.
Our track record with collection sales is unmatched in recent years evidenced by our handling of prestigious private collections including The Surrealist World of Rosalind Gersten Jacobs and Melvin Jacobs ; Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection and Photographs from the Richard Gere Collection. Institutional sales offered with the Christie’s Photographs department in recent years include property from The Museum of Modern Art offered through our innovative online platform; three auctions of Ansel Adams photographs sold in association with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, Tucson; and a small deaccession of Civil War photographs from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2021.
As the market leader, we are committed to sourcing and selling the finest works of art with exceptional provenance to both private collectors and institutions, whether at auction or as private sale transactions. Our connections to curators and institutions globally, as well as the world’s top collectors, is incomparable.