May the 10th: Sotherby’s auction.
This whole, free breakfast came in handy throughout the trip. All the tea you can drink, and a croissant for breakfast. The bun and chocolate croissant were stashed away many a time as a snack throughout the day. Our first task was to get some Metrocards for us all, which included a hint of nostalgia by getting our photos done in a photo booth. This provided a moment or two of hilarity when we decided to see how many PPCMers we could cram into a photo booth.
Smile everybody! Photograph by Photomaton.
In a previous life, I worked at a fine arts gallery, dealing in Canadian painters and Inuit carvers. We liked to be up to date in market value for our clients, so many afternoons were spent reading up on our artists and following the auctions at Waddington’s and Heffel’s. This allowed us to see what the public were willing to pay for works, and in some cases, watch other galleries release pieces to the auction block. Despite this research, I had never been to an actual auction prior to the trip. One can imagine then, my excitement when we discovered that we could attend a Sotherby’s auction that featured photographs! Upon arrival I completely geeked out and got an auction catalogue in which I could follow along and frantically scribble the realized prices for the works. It was also a great opportunity to practice my French numbers. One of the first lots was a stunning mounted albumen print by Gustave Le Gray of the Pantheon in Paris. It was from a private, French collection, and featured the red signature stamp of Le Gray. What really caught me about this was that I had already walked by the Pantheon so far on this trip, and was going to again, but I had yet to see with no people in the area, whatsoever. The ultimate tourist shot, even at its almost poster-like size of 18” x 14”! It didn’t quite make it’s estimated price, falling short by €500, but I’d like to assume that it now takes pride and place in someone’s collection. There were a few of Le Gray’s works in the auction, including “Marine, Etude de Nuages, 1856,” which went far beyond their estimate, in this case €62,000 versus the estimated €30,000 to €40,000.
The auction featured many photographers whose works we’ve studied, which made for an interesting look into market value and what people will pay for ‘historic’ works. An Atget, roughly dated to 1920 went for €13,000, and a Rayogramme by Man Ray from 1924 went for €100,000, which was much less than its estimate. One lot that definitely caught my attention was #107, “Before the Storm, 1906” by Edward Sheriff Curtis. I had never heard of an ‘Orotone’ before, but after some research I discovered that they were Curtis’ specialty during the early 20th century, producing hundreds of Orotones of Native Americans during his photographic career. The initial parts of the process are familiar, printing a positive onto a glass plate that has been pre-coated with a silver gelatin emulsion. The secondary part of the process includes coating the plate in a banana oil that is saturated with a gold-coloured pigment. The particular Orotone on auction included its original frame, used to help protect the glass plate, and had some interesting pieces of evidence of previous owners. Upon closer inspection, one could see a very large fingerprint on the glass.
All in all, this was an excellent first introduction to a real world auction. There was a great variety of material that was on the block that featured a little bit of everything by way of results. With a withdrawn lot, many that were under, over or bang on to their estimates and quite a few that went unsold, we got a little bit of everything!
Outside Sotherby's.
Photography by A Cook.
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