The global Photographs department at Christie’s leads the market with strong results for iconic works that span the history of the medium, from early 19th-century through Pictorialist, Modernist, Post-War and Contemporary photography. Over the course of 2018, we have offered two single owners sales: The Yamakawa Collection of Twentieth Century Photographs and An American Journey: The Diann G. and Thomas A. Mann Collection of Photographic Masterworks, as well as multiple various-owners sales in Paris, London and New York, including property from The Museum of Modern Art and other esteemed collections.
Since 2015 the Christie’s Photographs department has offered the most noteworthy private collections, including Visionaries: Photographs from the Emily and Jerry Spiegel Collection; Portrait of a Collector: The John M. Bransten Collection of Photographs; Modern Visions: Exceptional Photographs; Stripped Bare: Photographs from the Collection of Thomas Koerfer; Collection Shalom Shpilman vendue au profit du Shpilman Institute for Photography and Important Photographs from the Collection of Donald and Alice Lappé, among others.
Our international team of specialists provide collectors opportunities to bid on works in live and online auctions by the most celebrated names in the field, for many of whom Christie’s holds the world auction record. Among them are Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Man Ray, William Eggleston, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eugène Atget, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon.
As the market leader in this category, Christie’s is committed to sourcing and selling the finest works of art with exceptional provenance to both private collectors and institutions, whether at auction or through Private Sales. Please do not hesitate to contact us for a free and confidential valuation or to discuss buying and selling with Christie’s.