Photography is a great medium in which to invest. It’s recognisable, it’s easy to digest, and it’s often more affordable than works on canvas – though that’s not to say it’s any ‘less important’.
Photography certainly has its heavy hitters – Irving Penn, Man Ray, Peter Lindbergh, Helmut Newton, Michael Comte, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman and Ansel Adams, to name a select few. What makes the medium err on the side of affordable is its ability to offer multiple editions: price is reduced with each printing (identical except for its unique number and, on some occasion, artist signature).
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But multiple editions certainly aren't a bad thing. The best photographers know to limit their reproductions to just a few signed images. If there are hundreds or thousands of the same authentic photograph floating around out there, then supply appears endless and its value diminishes. Photographers know this however, and this is what stops them from simply releasing more editions. In this sense, photography is a self-regulating market, which puts buyers, like yourself, at ease.
Pontus Silfverstolpe, founder of Barnebys says, “Photography is a fantastic artistic medium. In the age of social media and iPhone cameras, audiences crave genuine photography from the masters of the medium. Everyone has a camera, but not everyone has the ability to use it professionally.”
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For those looking to invest in photography, this spring three of the world’s top auction houses – Christie’s, Phillips and Sotheby’s – are hosting auctions with numerous pieces dedicated to the medium. Find our favourites here.
On 31 March, Christie’s New York is offering hundreds of pieces in their dedicated ‘Photographs’ sale, with viewing open from 27 March. The majority of this sale is dedicated to 20th-century artists, such as Edward Weston, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank and William Eggleston.
A painter needs an audience, so I also clipped a photo of an eye to… create the illusion of being watched...
Man Ray’s celebrated combination of a metronome with a photograph of an eye affixed with a paperclip to a swinging arm was firm created in 1922-23 and titled Object to be Destroyed (Objet à détruire). Christie’s has a 1923-30 silver gelatin print of the work on sale.
As Man Ray himself explained: “I had a metronome in my place which I set going when I painted... its ticking noise regulated the frequency and number of my brushstrokes. The faster it went, the faster I painted... A painter needs an audience, so I also clipped a photo of an eye to the metronome's swinging arm to create the illusion of being watched as I painted.”
Another classic black-and-white photo is German photographer Peter Lindbergh’s shot of 1980s supermodels on the beach in Santa Monica for US Vogue. Included in the seemingly candid work is Estelle Lefébure, Karen Alexander, Rachel Williams, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz and Christy Turlington.
Moving now to Phillips, also taking place in New York is the auction house’s ‘Photographs’ sale on 2 April, with viewing available from 24 March. More stunning pieces and staple names come under this helm, with plenty of variety and style.
One of the most impressive pieces on offer is a work by Ansel Adams, an American landscape photographer and environmentalist. Adams helped found ‘Group f/64’, an association of photographers who advocated ‘pure’ photography, which favoured sharp focus and the use of the full tonal range of a photograph.
Ansel is best known for his black-and-white images of the American West, as depicted here in his Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine California (1944).
Another 20th-century American photographer, Edward Weston was a seminal figure in the medium. He once stated, “The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.”
Weston was known for his ability to transform landscapes, portraits and still lifes into something new – something mysterious and paradox and entirely different from what was at hand. This is evinced here with Pepper II (1929), which looks magnificently like anything but a pepper.
Finally, we’d be remiss to mention the Sotheby’s ‘Made in Britain’ auction, which is taking place on 17 March. The auction celebrates the very best in Modern British art across a variety of media, though it’s the photography that’s caught our eye – with celebrated and sought-after pieces by Terry O’Neill, Chris Levine, Norman Parkinson, Terence Donovan, Chris Smith, David Bailey and plenty more.
These works aren’t only by the best in Britain, but also of the best in Britain, as with Barry Lategan’s iconic portrait of English model Twiggy, who has come to be known as a cultural icon of London’s swinging sixties. This specific photograph was acquired by the present owner directly from the artist himself.
Investment aside, at the end of the day purchasing art is about purchasing what you love. Find what catches your eye and piques your curiosity. Whether it’s the ‘purity’ of something, the ‘quintessence’, the whimsical, the British or something else entirely: only you can decide.
