黑料不打烊

Were you surprised by the stunning results by Josef Sudek at Sotheby鈥檚?
Mann: I have to say that on Sudek I鈥檓 really scratching my head. I think that was an auction anomaly. Even if they were exquisite prints, 200,000-300,000 Euros is excessive. I attribute that more to the bidders rather than the quality of the works. I鈥檓 not trying to discredit the pictures, I鈥檓 sure they were fabulous but those kind of numbers were likely achieved due to two very strong egos with very deep pockets. I seriously doubt we鈥檇 see these numbers if they were sold privately.

Greenberg: It was good to see people finally paying respectable prices for Sudek鈥檚 work. But at the same time it was strange as they were selling for so much higher than what we are used to. Sotheby鈥檚 reasonably estimated the works. So how do you explain record sales at auctions? Sometimes you have the right thing at the right time for the right people. The same buyer bought the two most expensive lots 鈥� he鈥檚 a representative of a collector who owns the most important Sudek collection.

Left: Josef Sudek, Sans titre (Etude de nature-morte), 1952, vintage pigment print. Right: Josef Sudek, Sans titre (Vase et rose morte), 1952

What is your prediction for 2011 in the photography market?
Mann: I鈥檇 love to think that we are back at pre-recession levels but at pre-recession we were operating at a different level than normal. It seemed like people couldn鈥檛 spend their money fast enough. A lot of impulse buying. I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e ever going to get back to that point. People are more comfortable spending money, but I think now they do it with some hesitation and a more methodical approach. They do their research and make their decision carefully. I believe to some extent this has to do with the collectables market being a more secure market for them than some of the other options, especially the stock market.

I think cautious buying will continue across the board. Great objects 鈥� high end by great masters or young contemporary artists who are just entering the marketplace but are doing very impressive work 鈥� they all have a positive future providing that we're talking about quality works, quality prints and that the works or careers are properly managed by their representatives, pricing or editioning.

Greenberg: Our sales reflect the current photography market in galleries where the most expensive pictures are selling very slowly but there are many sales at the middle (up to $25,000) and lower end. The top end of the market is doing as well as other categories at auction houses. I believe we will see continued recovery into 2011. There are still quite a few large collections being formed. The market is healthy. In New York I see a great willingness to buy again. Paris Photo confirmed my belief that we鈥檙e definitely moving up again. Although the world economy is not good, the photography market is very solid right now.

Is photography still an undervalued segment of the total market? Why?
Mann: It鈥檚 the youngest art. I鈥檝e been in the business 33 years. I started in the mid-70s when the photography market was just beginning. Other forms of art have had many many more years to develop. Photography is just starting and that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 undervalued and a fabulous place to invest. It has no way to go but up.

Greenberg: I find that the great masterpieces of photography are still undervalued compared to other categories so there is a lot of room for growth in the market. On the other hand, when you see a very young photographer and they are asking for five figures, I think that鈥檚 fully valued and you won鈥檛 see much growth there.

Left: Irving Penn, Pablo Picasso 脿 l'h么tel la Californie, Cannes, 1957, platinum-palladium print, sold at Sotheby's for $74,000. Right: Edward Weston, Galvan shooting, 1924, vintage silver print, sold at Sotheby's for $69,000.

What is the difference in collecting photographs versus painting or sculpture, perhaps in regard to the barrier of entry, general appeal, upfront costs, and return on value? Can collectors feel confident the market won鈥檛 be suddenly saturated by other prints suddenly produced by the negatives' holders?
Mann: Photography is considerably less expensive than other art mediums. You can begin collecting works by the most important artists for much less than in painting. You could create a fabulous photography collection that is very reasonable in price. You can buy wonderful photographs for just a few thousand dollars. I don鈥檛 think you can get anything close to that in other mediums that would be as meaningful, and has the same kind of growth potential as an investment.

The artists themselves and dealers and galleries are hopefully intelligent enough to monitor and control their markets properly, you don鈥檛 mass produce, you create limited editions and you stick to them. There鈥檚 no benefit for any artist to mass-produce their work. If you鈥檙e dealing with professionals and credible sources, there鈥檚 no reason to be concerned about it.

Greenberg: The photography market has been growing for 40 years now. In all that time people have had the same very fear that there would be endless numbers of prints of the same picture. The truth is that doesn鈥檛 go on anymore. There were when a lot of the masters were alive and they were producing and the prices were very low. Over all these years, certain things have sorted themselves out. Pictures that have more prints than others, for instance Ansel Adams鈥� Moonrise over Hernandez, where there were hundreds of prints made during the 70s and 80s and they still have held their value and grown slowly but surely. From that we鈥檝e learned that it鈥檚 a market driven more by images and the importance of the photographers鈥� work. If there is a very desirable picture, many many copies can sell again and again. At the same time, one has to understand there are no guarantees in anything in art. People who have collected photography, if they do it intelligently, if they buy quality, the history shows that they always increase in value.

How has the surge of digital technology affected the photography market?
Mann: It has enabled artists another option of printing their work and in some cases capturing their work. It鈥檚 another vehicle to create your art. Some may feel it makes it better, more archival. I don鈥檛 care so much about the technology, I care about the end result. Tech has significantly entered into the photography world but it鈥檚 akin to when color photography began, it鈥檚 just another mode of expression.

Greenberg: It has become more and more acceptable as a medium. It鈥檚 the only practical way to make very large prints. And since there is still much demand for very large prints, some use of digital technology has been put in regular use now by artists and as such the market is accepting it. The limited edition idea is important because they are much much easier to make and duplicate so you need to be very careful with how many you make for it to keep its value.

Written by 黑料不打烊.com staff; all images courtesy of Sotheby's and Christie's; all prices converted from Euros.