WHAT TO LOOK FOR...

Art Photography must not be boring...

   Photographs have been collected since its innovation. As early as the 1850s photographs were sold by art galleries. In 1854  the first auction of photographs took place in London (although the first auction in the USA was only a century later). By the early 20th century photography was established as collectible (but the debate about „photography as art“ is still going on even today) and from the 1970th on we can find the market as we know it today.

  Seeing an investment potential can be a reason for collecting photographs but an increase in value is never guaranteed and is very much depending on what is called „art market“, which is following more or less the up and downs of the economy, reflecting every crisis (reflected e.g. in the downfall of auction prices in the 1990s or 2008).

   In my opinion aesthetic considerations are far more important. As already said before: Collect what you love. For a beginning concentrate on one specific theme, period, style or artist. Later on your collecting decisions may evolve and change when your knowledge increases. And with everything in life it very much depends on how much money you want (or can) spend...

   First of all I would suggest some reading. There are a lot of books about the „theory of photography“ (also imho most of them are more confusing than helpful). There are some „musts“ you should read: Susan Sontag‘s On Photography, Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography by Roland Barthes or Walter Benjamin‘s On Photography and The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. All these book my help you to get some background on the philosophical base of photography...

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN COLLECTING PHOTOGRAPHS

[This of course is not a complete list. There are quite a number of other aspects that have to be taken into account (such as storage, presentation, etc), with which I will deal in another post.]

• Artist

So you found a photography you like. Or you have heard about an „upcoming“ photographer who‘s work you like. Try to learn as much as possible about her/him. Many (established) photographers have written books about their work. 

Some examples of book by or about photographers. I personally can recommend each of it...

  Try to learn how they are thinking, what they have to tell you about their work, the ideas behind it. Look at their bios: do they exhibit regularly, is their work critically acclaimed? What is their place in the present market, the history of photography (although this are points to take into consideration when you are collecting as an investment only).

• Image

Most important thing: Do you love it? Or as the collector Arnold Crane stated: „I look for nothing [in a photograph]. It looks for me! It hits me first in the gut and then in the eye!“

• Condition

All photographic materials are affected by physical, chemical and biological deteriorations. Photograph stability refers the ability of prints to remain visibly unchanged over periods of time. Different photographic processes yield varying degrees of stability. Most contemporary photographs are expected to be in a pristine condition. 19th century prints are often faded. Generally speaking on can say that, under optimal conditions, the durability of a (classic) barite paper is  about 100 years, of PE (polyethylene) papers about 30 years and color papers between 15 years and 30 years. A contemporary ink jet print could last, depending on the used paper and ink, between 60 to more than 200 years. 

The condition of a print has a big influence on the price. Ansel Adams famous picture Moonrise, Hernandez can vary between $0.00 and $600,000, depending on the condition. The latter price was achieved at auction for a 1948 vintage print with a clear and documented provenance in excellent condition. The current price for a late print in very good to excellent condition is $50-60,000. And the Ansel Adams Gallery reports about a print of Moonrise that looked like it had been a pinup in a machine shop, with heavy oil stains on the mount, smudges and scratches on the surface, that basically had zero value on the market.

• Signature

In the 19th and 20th centuries, signing a photograph was the exception rather than the rule. More people were making photographs than buying them. it wasn‘t until the latter part of the 20th century, when the market for photography became a reality, that the practice of signing became more common.

• Existing prints, editions

Rarity can be an important factor for evaluation. Most contemporary artists are producing limited editions but prior to the 1980s most photographers did not limit their prints. Be also aware of how each image is limited. Sally Mann, for example, is doing her limited editions as 25 prints in the format of 20x24 inch, 25 prints in the format of 8x10 inch while reserving the right to produce yet another 25 in 16x20 inch, so you can never know haw many prints exist (without checking with the artist or her dealers).

This are only a few points that a novice collector should take into consideration. I will deal with some more in upcoming posts. So stay tuned. ;-)

BUY WHAT YOU LOVE...

Photo Festivals like Les Recontres d'Arles with their exhibitions and portfolio reviews ( (seen here) are a good opportunity to get a perspective on what's going on in the Univers of Art Photography

  Collecting photographs is much about personal taste. If you see collecting photographs only as an investment possibility then maybe I am not the right person to give you advices. I know up to nothing about  investments. And personally I don‘t like most of the „most expansive photographs“, don‘t see any artistic values in them. But thats my personal opinion, is reflecting my personal taste. If you want to make investments to increase your money I can give you only a short view on the market and keep in mind: While many photographs can be fine investments, an increase in value is never guaranteed.

In the global art market the medium of photography represents  only a tiny fragment of about 2%. In 2014 all photographs sold at auctions brought in about $180 million (just to compare: the 2014 auction at Christie‘s  of Picasso‘s Les Femmes d‘Alger achieved with $179.5 the same sum).

   Arthur Goldberg, a major US collector of contemporary photography for the last 40 years, said that it is up to history to decide if there should be equality. However, he thinks that buying photography is a real opportunity to own great art at a lower price. “Great art is great art,” he said, “whatever the medium.”

"To collect photographs is to collect the world." 

[Susan SAuctionsontag]

   Whether you’re buying for profit, pleasure, or both - there is no right or wrong way to collect. There are only some things you have to keep in mind to avoid spending money more than necessary.

   Whatever your approach to collecting, the crucial thing is to enjoy it. “Buy what you love. Buy what speaks to you,” says Laura Noble, gallerist and author of the „Art of Collecting Photography“. “It’s a reflection of who you are.”

First and foremost, a collection should reflect your taste and interest (and budget). 

   So make the first step. Decide what you want to collect. You can collect by genre (e.g. travel photographs from the 19th century) or on artist you like. You can collect prints done with a special technique (like platinum prints). You can collect prints made in a certain timeframe (e.g. the 1950s). It‘s only about you. Go out and find what you like. It is waiting there to be discovered.

Some considerations to take into account...

  Whatever you decided to collect, there are a number of criteria to follow (which are often the same ones for establishing the value appraisals). 

  There are many different circumstantialities one has to take into consideration to find the right value for a certain print. I want to show you this fact on one striking example:

Edward Henry Weston was a 20th-century American photographer  He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers…" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." One of his most famous series is the „Shells“ portfolio. But prints from this portfolio are in a range from about $ 15.000 up to more than $1 million (for the same image!). Why?

Well, it very much depends on the kind of the print. Weston‘s photographs come in four varieties: vintage prints, signed by himself and prints late by himself (e.g. in the 1930s from his 1920s negatives or in the 1940s from his 1930s negatives). Then there are so called „project prints“ made under his supervision by his son Brett in the 1950s (when Edward developed Parkinson‘s disease). And there are posthumous prints by his other son Cole...

Left: April 2012 Christie‘s

EDWARD WESTON (1886-1958) 

SHELL

gelatin silver print, printed 1970s by Cole Weston 

signed, titled, dated by Cole Weston in pencil and credit stamp 

(on the reverse of the mount)

image/sheet: 9 3/8 x 7 3/8 in. (24.3 x 19.2 cm.) 

mount: 15 x 13¼in. (38.5 x 34 cm.) 

Estimated: $6,000 - $8,000

Lot Sold: $18,750

Middle: April 2014, Sotheby‘s

Edward Weston

'SHELLS'

mounted to buff-colored card, signed, dated, initialed, and editioned '18/50' in pencil 

on the mount, titled and dated in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1927

9 1/4  by 7 in. (23.5 x 17.8 cm.)

Estimated: $300,000 - $500,000

Lot Sold: $905.000

Right: April 2010, Sotheby‘s

Edward Weston

NAUTILUS

Estimated: $300,000 - $500,000

Lot Sold: $1,082,500

As I said before:  A collection should reflect your taste and interest. And it will be very much influenced by your budget...

More to come soon...

Filed under [Collector's Basics]

MORE MONEY THAN SENSE?

  A year ago, the art world was startled by the following message:

Peter Lik Print Sells for $6.5 Million, Shattering Record for Most Expensive Photo

Australian landscape photographer Peter Lik has taken the crown for most expensive photo ever sold. “Phantom,” the picture shown above, was sold to a private collector for a staggering $6.5 million. The record was previously held by Andreas Gursky’s “Rhein II”, which sold for $4.3 million back in 2011.[http://petapixel.com]

But soon there emerged a lot of doubts about this deal. As with his 2010 piece, "One", the purported sale was to a private collector, and therefore there was no way to verify the claim. Rumors have swirled for years that Lik’s investors "buy" his works at absurd prices as a marketing stunt to generate interest in his work. And soon the whole "business model" of Peter Lik has been questioned. Renowned media such as the New York Times or The Guardian dealt extensively with Peter Lik. "Is that $6.5 Million Photo Sale for Real? Probably Not!" an article on artnet news is titled. "Buyer beware: Treat Peter Lik photo sale with skepticism", "Those $10m Photos May Not Be Art—and Now There Are Doubts About the Truth of the Sales", "The Most Expensive Photo in the World, or the Best Marketing Stunt?" where other headlines.

There was also a significant backlash to this news on Twitter, where @LarryWasser called it "the sad story of uneducated buyers" and @polarapfel saw Lik's business as a guide to "how to run a successful scam on novice art buyers." On Facebook, Ken Micallef called Lik's practices "sickening and hilarious".

If you consider that, according to the artnet Price Database Lik‘s work has only topped the $3,000 mark (on the secondary market) once for a 2008 sale of a color version of "Phantom" (named "Ghost" then which is, as you can see above,the same picture, just converted to b&w, also nothing is known about the size), which sold for $15,860, these doubts are more than justified. 

So what is Peter Lik‘s "Business model" then?

His editions are in lots of 995—950 „limited editions“ and 45 artist’s proofs. Each print is identical but the proofs have a bit more prestige to them so they start at $10,000. His business model is that as a print is selling, the price will increase. Once he has sold 10 percent of a limited edition, the price increases. So, an image that would cost $4000 if you bought the first one, could reach as high as $200,000 when it’s down to the last few.

(Note: Most photographers offer their work in very limited editions. A large format print is often limited to ten or less. And they all sell for the same amount.)

For the record-setting Phantom, Lik employed a new tactic, putting the word out to his most prolific collectors that his latest work would be one-of-a-kind. The $6.5 million sale was widely reported, but the backlash was swift, both against the photo's artistic value and the validity of the astronomical price tag. As the New York Times points out, the sale was both private and anonymous, so "it's hard to know what's 'official' about it."

The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian newspaper, has taken Lik's unlikely sale to task, citing the lack of documentary proof of the sale aside from the press release  and advices to be skeptical of the sale because

• The work was sold privately to an unknown buyer and no documentary proof beyond a press release of the sale appears to have been provided.
• Lik's work has been ignored by major public art galleries and dismissed by critics.
• When his photos have gone up for public auction, they have not sold well.

Art consultant David Hulme, who in 2012 warned against collecting Lik "because Peter Lik's photographs have no secondary market presence or value," routinely fields calls from Lik owners who are hoping for a profitable resale. He told the New York Times that he worries that Lik's tiered pricing structure is "misleading" customers, understandably causing them to assume that the outside market will reflect the ever-rising prices charged by the artist. And Michael Hoppen, a gallery owner in London, was quoted by The Independent in England, "[Phantom] is an abomination. Art, whatever, the medium, is something that moves and informs you or changes your opinion. This has nothing to do with art or creative photography, and the tragedy is that it brings the whole business down."

The art world is full of ridiculous egos.

Peter Lik's claims to be the "world's most influential fine art photographer" and "one of the most important artists of the 21st century". But there are not many who would follow his view...

So here is my conclusion on this whole even episode:

If you have enough money and like Peter Lik‘s work - go for it. But don‘t expect that the worth will rise. (And maybe you should also take into consideration that there are hundreds of photographers that to much better work then Lik ever will do).

If you want to invest your money in art, hoping do get more out of it - don‘t buy Lik‘s work. You only would lose money...

This is a follow up of my 2014 articel at my art connected blog.

A/P, B.A.T., 3/25 - WHAT'S IN A SIGNATURE?

   As with so many things in the universe of Art Photography there are no clear rules or commonly agreed conventions for signing an artwork. And as with so many things in the universe of Art Photography there are many different opinions even between photography dealers, collectors or curators.   Historically there are many bodies of work that were routinely not signed. With 19th century work, a handful of artists either signed their prints or affixed facsimile signature ink-stamps...but many more did not.—in the 20th century, important figures like Eugene Atget basically never signed his prints and Alfred Stieglitz did so rather rarely. With contemporary work, it is natural for collectors to expect that all works would be signed. Again: There are no rules and it very much depends on the artist. An unsigned contemporary photograph by Ansel Adams is a problem, an unsigned Walker Evans is not unusual.

  As there are no norms in this particular instance you will find a lot of variations. Signatures on the picture itself, verso (i.e. on the back) or recto (i.e. on the front). Sometimes you may find a C.A.T. (i.e. a „Certificate of Authenticity“ stamped on the back), sometimes you wouldn‘t find anything of this...

Some kind of a C.A.T.

1/99

Such numbers are pointing out that this particularly print is part of a Limited Edition (in our case Print 1 out of an edition of 99). A limited edition is normally hand signed and numbered by the artist. Again, there are no clear definitions. In some countries (e.g. in 14 states of the USA, in Great Britain or New Zealand; in France, it is a legal requirement to edition your prints to 25 copies or less) there are laws defining a “imited edition“, in others there are more or less generally agreed conventions (e.g in Australia, where limited editions rarely number more than 99 and are often less). Many Limited Editions are Portfolios, which is a group of photographs with some unifying concept published together.

In generally one can say that a “Limited Edition“ is

produced directly from the artist‘s original work

directly by the artist or under direct supervision

limited to some pre-defined number of prints

signed and numbered by the artist

   

You may not find the artist‘s signature only but from time to time some abbreviations like A/P. Most of them derive from the printing craft: 

A/P (Artist‘s Proof)

Usually about 10% of the total number of prints in an edition remain the property of the artist, and are called Artist's Proofs. They are identical with the other impressions in the edition. Artists usually use them for their personal portfolio or for special exhibition.

P.P. (Printer‘s Proof), W.P. (Working Proof), B.A.T. („Bon A Trier“)

An impression of the finished work that is identical to the numbered copies.  Identifies a proof which will serve as the standard to be maintained during the printing of an edition. This originate from the times when the artist didn‘t to the printing by himself. (Henri Cartier-Bresson for example almost never did his own printing.)  

H.C. („Hors de Commerce“)
Prints that are given to someone personally by the artist or are for some reason unsuitable for sale are marked "H. C." or "H/C", meaning "hors de commerce", not for sale.

U.S. (Unique State)
A print that is one of a kind. Meaning that there is only this one, unique print.

Several years before his death, Andy Warhol signed his name on copies of the tabloid magazine Interview (of which he was the editor). Regularly costing $2, he charged buyers $50 for these signed copies and they sold pretty fast...

Filed under [Collector's Basics]

FROM DAGUERROTYPE TO GICLÉE

A (incomplete) history of photographic processes.

   Browsing catalogs (may it be from an auction, exhibition or collections) you will find in the picture‘s description a lot of informations. Some of them are quite clear like the name of the photographer, the year the picture was taken, the title etc. Some are not so obvious like the description of the used photographic process...

An example from an online auction catalog (13th Westlicht Photographica Auction, Nov. 2015)

   As you can see on above sample it says „Vintage Silver print“. Now this actually is an intermixture of two different definition: „Silver print“ is the photographic process involved while „Vintage print“ has nothing to do with it.

What is a „Vintage Print“?

A vintage print is made during the artist‘s lifetime, by the artist or under his/her close supervision. A vintage print is usually priced higher than other print types because it can be seen as the original. 

What is a „Modern Print“?

Usually a print made long time after the artist has made the negative and without his/her supervision. In order for them to have value, they must be printed by someone who knew the photographer personally and had a sound knowledge of how he or she wanted his photographs to look.

   So now to the photographic processes. As there where so many different processes especially in the pioneer era of photography (when almost every photographer invented his own process) I will mention here only the most important ones, those you will encounter very often.

Daguerrotype (1839)

The daguerreotype, invented by Louis-Jagues-Mandè Daguerre and introduced in 1839, was the first publicly announced photographic process, and for nearly twenty years, it was the one most commonly used. By 1860, new processes which were less expensive and produced more easily viewed images had almost completely replaced it. The whole process was quite complicated involving a silver-plated copper sheet, long exposure times and a lot of chemical treatment (eg with mercury vapor). As  there is no negative to make prints from a daguerrotype is always an unique copy (which could only be duplicated by copying it with a camera).

Ambrotype

or amphitype, introduced in the 1850s, also known as a collodion positive,  is a positive photograph on glass. Like a print on paper, it is viewed by reflected light. Like the daguerrotype, each is a unique original that could only be duplicated by using a camera to copy it.

Calotype (1841) 

or talbotype is an early process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, a Scottish scientist, inventor and photography pioneer, using paper coated with silver iodide. The calotype process produced a translucent original negative image from which multiple positives could be made by simple contact printing.

  In the final decades of the 19th century the negative process was further developed. 1851 Scott Archer invented the wet plate (or collodion) process, using glass plates as carrier for the light sensitive silver emulsion, 1879 the first dry plate factory was founded, celluloid was introduced as carrier agent, which was replaced in the 1950s with acetate. In 1881 Gorge Eastman founded Kodak („You press the button, we do the rest“), and it was the Kodak Company, which presented in 1989 the first megapixel sensor for digital cameras. But all of this is important for the negative process only.  For the final print one needed the positive process, and over the time a lot of different processes where developed. Here are the most commonly used, the one you most likely will find around auctions (and some of them are still used by contemporary artists).

Salt print

The salt print, created by Henry Fox Talbot, was the dominant paper-based photographic process for producing positive prints during the period from 1839 through approximately 1860. 

Albumen print

also called albumen silver print, was published in January 1847 and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photograph on a paper base from a negative It used the albumen found in egg whites in to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper and became the dominant form of photographic positives from 1855 to the turn of the 20th century, with a peak in the 1860-90 period.

Platinum print, Palladium print

Platinum prints, also called platinotypes, are photographic prints made by a  monochrome printing process that provides a large tonal range. The palladiotype is a less-common variant of the platinotype. The process came into greater use after World War I because the platinum used in the more-common platinotype quickly became too expensive, so photographers tried to replace the platinum with the much cheaper palladium which gave similar effects. 

Silver Print

or gelatin silver process is the photographic process used with currently  (still) available black-and-white films and printing papers. A suspension of silver salts in gelatine is coated onto a support such as  flexible plastic or film, baryta paper, or resin-coated paper. These light-sensitive materials are stable under normal keeping conditions and are able to be exposed and processed even many years after their manufacture.  Gelatin silver printing was the dominant photographic process from introduction in the 1880s until the 1960s when it was eclipsed by consumer color photography. The gelatin silver or black-and-white print is thus a primary form of visual documentation in the 20th century. Its widespread use in applications as wide-ranging as fine art, snap shots, and document reproduction led to an extraordinary variety of papers with a wide range of available surface texture and gloss, and paper thickness.

Parmelian print

An oddity in the history of print processes, which is nothing else but a silver print. The story behind: In 1927, not long after he decided to become a professional photographer, Ansel Adams published a portfolio of 18 silver gelatin photographic prints (in an edition of 100 copies, plus 10 artist's copies) named „Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras“. The term "parmelian" was a meaningless word invented by Jean Moore (the publisher), who believed that calling them "photographic prints" would not allow them to be taken seriously as art. Adams later said "I am not proud at allowing this breach of faith in my medium." 

Chromogenic color prints (Analogue C-Prints)

are full-color photographic prints made using chromogenic materials and processes. These prints may be produced from an original which is a color negative, slide or digital image. The chromogenic print process was nearly synonymous with the 20th-century color snapshot

Lambda prints (Digital C-Prints)

A system that uses lasers to expose light-sensitive material to produce a latent image that is then developed using conventional silver-based photographic chemicals. 

Cibachrome

is a dye destruction positive-to-positive photographic process used for the reproduction of slides on photographic paper. Since it uses 13 layers of azo dyes sealed in a polyester base, the print will not fade, discolor, or deteriorate for an extended time.

Nowadays, in the age of digital printing, there is no convention anymore for the naming of the used process. You can find merely different designations like Inkjet Print, Pigment Print, Archival Pigment Print, Pigment Ink Print or Giclée Print. All of them are printed on inkjet printers, also giclée has become synonymous with fine art reproductions printed a high-end inkjet printer and pigmented inks.

There are much more photographic processes and i listed here only the most commen one. If you find something not listed here - I will tryto solve it for you.

Filed under [Collector's Basics]

UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET

  There are multiple sources of photographic art, falling into one of two general categories although there will be some cross over from time to time. You have to keep in mind that for the artist there is a very big different between this two markets: Only when his work is sold at the primary market he/she actually earns money. If the work is sold at the secondary market he/she may not even learn about it...

Primary Market _ Term for the sources of art works initially sold to collectors, usually through galleries, dealers, and at artist's shows, the 'first sale' of a work of art. 

Secondary Market _ Term for sources of art works that have been sold before and are available again for sale in the market place.

The Primary Market

Primary markets are by definition the point of the first acquisition of a work of art. This is also the time when the price for the artwork is established for the first time. Primary market players are galleries, private dealers (Generally an individual without a display space regularly open to the public. They work by telephone, appointment, and most often with established clients.) and at times the artist themselves. In primary markets, prices are established by the artist as a condition of representation. All galleries who work with a contemporary photographer should be selling at the same price. 

There are some distinguishing marks which define a “good“ art dealer:

• The reputable Art Dealer is 100% behind the work he/she is selling
• Most reputable dealers have extensive libraries -many are art historians or collectors turned dealers.
• Most reputable dealers are happy to educate, explain, and teach. They have a passion for the art they sell, and they want to communicate it. 
• Reputable dealers will also give full condition reports, and will document fading, foxing or other condition problems

The Secondary Market

Secondary markets are by definition involved in the acquisition and sale of work that has been owned previously. Key players in secondary markets are auction houses, private dealers, and some galleries. 

The secondary market often establishes the market value of works of art at a point in time.

Prices on the secondary market can be pretty confusing: the internet is bringing more visibility, but because there are a lot of different factors that aren’t readily captured or noted, the internet is not bringing greater clarity. The key to remember is that while not all prints are the same, there are common factors that sellers use to establish the price. Those are: general market and economic conditions, image desirability and demand, image scarcity and supply, size, condition, period of printing, provenance, and image quality. 

For the works of deceased photographers,  the secondary market is not only critical in establishing prices, but sometimes the only source of original photographs. 

Auctions are public events, can be entertaining and exciting for bidders, and present a great opportunity to view and bid on multiple works of art at the same time. It is sometimes possible to get a good deal. Sometimes prices get pretty outrageous, so you have to exercise caution when bidding. One thing that some people are not aware of in bidding is that the hammer price is not the final price. At most auction houses, there is a buyer premium for 20-25%, which means if you bid $20,000 for a photograph, you aren’t picking it up until you pay the house $25,000.

Online Auctions are a relatively new phenomenon which one has to take with a pinch of salt. Buyers are taking a chance buying original prints from an online or independent seller. If the buyer recognizes that and is willing to take that chance, then it might be worth it. There are some points to consider when you are buying at an online auction:

• Is the seller accurately representing the item? 
• Is the seller accurately disclosing the condition? Damage can take the value all the way down to zero, if significant enough.
• Is there an opportunity to return the item if not as described?
• Is there a satisfactory recourse if it becomes necessary?

The Contemporary Art Market

There are typically four different areas in the contemporary art market and most dealers will sell art from one or more of these areas. They are:

• The Reputable Print Market which covers both "emerging artists" and established artists.
• The Avant-Garde - otherwise known as "emerging artists". 
• The Established artist - This term covers artists whose work is well-known by the art-going public, and represented in both private and museum collections. 
• The Contemporary Masters - This covers artists who are generally acknowledged to be important figures in the history of contemporary art.

S