Photographs
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. Our team continues to find great success with our various owners auction in New York as well with our pioneering efforts to place major photographic works in the wide variety of 20/21 Century Art Evening and Day sales.
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; Richard Avedon; William Eggleston; 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, evidenced by our handling of several prestigious private and institutional collections in recent years. 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.
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Darius Himes is Deputy Chairman, International Head of Photographs, based in New York City, where he oversees a global team holding auctions in Paris, London, and NYC. He is focused on private sales and business development, with a keen emphasis on bringing singular collections and individual masterpieces to market in innovative ways. In recent years, his strategic approach has yielded outstanding auction records for Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and William Eggleston among others. In 2022 alone, the department achieved three of the four top prices for any photograph sold at auction.
Since joining the company in 2014, Himes has had the privilege of speaking with Sir Paul McCartney, Richard Gere, and Sir Elton John about their love of photography and has interviewed on stage numerous artists including Hiroshi Sugimoto, Mona Kuhn, Todd Hido, and Bruce Davidson about their work. He was instrumental in bringing the personal collection of DJ Kool Herc, the founding father of Hip-Hop, to Christie’s for a landmark sale in the summer of 2022.
Prior to joining Christie’s, Himes was director of Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco from 2011–2014. In 2007 he co-founded Radius Books, a non-profit publisher of books on photography and the visual arts. A lecturer and writer, his 3rd edition of Publish Your Photography Book, co-authored with Mary Virginia Swanson, was released in the spring of 2023.
Himes completed his Master of Arts in Liberal Arts at St. John's College in 2000 and received a BFA in Photography from Arizona State University, having studied under William Jenkins and Bill Jay. His love of the full breadth of the medium is evident in his work both within and outside the auction world.
Rebecca Jones
Associate Vice President, Specialist, Head of Department
New York
Rebecca Jones is an Associate Vice President, Specialist and the Head of Sale in the Photographs department in New York. In her current role, Rebecca helps source and appraise photographs for all upcoming international Photographs auctions. She oversees the research and cataloguing for all photographs confirmed for auction and private sales in New York. Before joining Christie’s Photographs department in 2015, she served as the Archive Manager of the Peter Hujar Archive in New York. She also previously held a position as the Registrar for a prestigious private collection of Contemporary, Post-War and Modern art located across several residences throughout the world. Rebecca holds a BFA degree from The Corcoran College of Art and Design and an MA degree in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Lillian Jonsons is a Junior Specialist in the Photographs Department in New York. In her current role she assists with property sourcing, research and appraisals. Prior joining Christie’s in 2023, she was an Associate Specialist at Bonhams New York. Lillian holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute where she majored in Photography.
