Sotheby's reported record bids for its photography sales in New York on April 7 and 8. All three auctions on the block during the two-day period exceeded estimates, for a total of more than $17.3 million.
Twenty-five artists were represented in the works at auction, including record-setting sales for Diane Arbus, Paul Strand and Edward Weston. According to Denise Bethel, director of Sotheby's photographs department, only 26 of 300 lots did not sell.
The April 7 evening sale of the Quillan Collection of 19th and 20th century photographs spotlighted 68 unique images dating from 1847 to 1985. The collection had been assembled by private dealer Jill Quasha for the Quillan Co. and raked in more than $8.9 million, well above the $7 million high-end estimate. Strand's "Rebecca" and Weston's "Nude" were included in the sales.
On April 8, another collection, "Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister and Other Photographs," containing more than 40 images by Weston and nine by his son Brett, achieved sales in excess of $1.5 million, topping the $1.4 million estimate. The third auction, which had several owners, garnered $6.8 million, beating the initial $5.6 million estimate.