With this sale, Phillips takes a third swing at the superlative photography collection inside Howard Stein’s Joy of Giving Something Foundation. After Stein’s death, the first sale from the collection took place at Sotheby’s in December of 2014 (results here), and the second came at Phillips in April earlier this year (results here). Between the two, more than $27M in thoughtfully selected, high quality work has returned to the market.
As the years click by and more prints get skimmed off of the massive collection, there are fewer top tier lots to be sure, but plenty of middle range rarities remain to tempt collectors, especially those with an interest in 19th and early 20th century work. The sale is led by a nearly complete set of Alfred Stieglitz’ influential Camera Work, but stand out prints from Moholy-Nagy, Atget, Le Gray, Nègre, and others will likely draw more attention. Overall, there are a total of 229 lots available in the sale, with a Total High Estimate of $4205000.
Here’s the statistical breakdown:
| Preview Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including $10000) | 104 |
| Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of low lots) | $753000 |
| Total Mid Lots (high estimate between $10000 and $50000) | 115 |
| Total Mid Estimate | $2642000 |
| Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000) | 10 |
| Total High Estimate | $810000 |
The top lot by High estimate is lot 65, Alfred Stieglitz, ed., Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly, Numbers 2-50, 1903-1917, estimated at $100000-150000 (image above, via Phillips).
Here’s the complete list of photographers with three or more lots in the sale, along with the number of lots on offer:
| Multiple Lots For Sale | |
|---|---|
| Harry Callahan | 6 |
| Alfred Stieglitz | 6 |
| André Kertész | 4 |
| Berenice Abbott | 3 |
| Margaret Bourke-White | 3 |
| Brassaï | 3 |
| Henri Cartier-Bresson | 3 |
| Robert Heinecken | 3 |
| Charles Nègre | 3 |
| Paul Strand | 3 |
Other lots of interest include (images above, via Phillips):
Lot 19, László Moholy-Nagy, Portrait of Ellen Frank, c1929, estimated at $50000-70000
Lot 27, Eugène Atget, Rue Mouffetard, 1925, estimated at $80000-120000
Lot 43, Margaret Bourke-White, Concrete Trestle, c1930, estimated at $25000-35000
Lot 96, Gustave Le Gray, Bateaux quittant le port du Havre, 1856-1857, estimated at $30000-50000
Lot 118, Charles Nègre, Versant de la colline avec cascade et personnage, c1865, estimated at $60000-80000
Lot 124, John Beasley Greene, Untitled (Boats on the Nile), 1853-1856, estimated at $15000-25000
The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.
