Print Prices in NYC Action Houses, Oct, 2009

[Bill_1856]

Sotheby's and Christies have just posted their photography auction results for last week (Google them for specifics).
There seemed to be a lot less activity than in recent years, and while prices are significantly down from their pre-recession peaks, they're still not bad. There did not seem to be any "Oh, my Gawd" prints offered, but on the other hand many well-known images went in the $7-10,000 range. "Moonrise" is holding its own at $40,000, and Diane Arbus has come down from the unattainable heights, while Robert Frank seems to be headed in that direction. Don't know what effect Irving Penn's death had on his prices.

[Brian Ellis]

Frank has been getting a lot of publicity in the last few years after decades of relative neglect. His book "The Americans" had a huge influence on photography, probably more so than any other book I can think of offhand. If someone was buying photographs solely for investment purposes, I think he'd be a good bet. But in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that my motto in the stock market has always been "buy high, sell low."