27/12/2001
by Frauke Finsterwalder

While it was discovered over a century ago, it is only in recent history that photography has finally been accepted into the pantheon of the fine arts. The last two decades in particular have seen photography, along with other “new media,” becoming as culturally dominant, if not more so, than painting itself. Within this incredible boom, a group of market leaders in the field has emerged, noticeably from Germany. One just has to take a look at the contemporary art auction results over the past four years to witness photography’s explosion in prices. Figures as high as $200,000 (€ 224,900) for a print are not uncommon—a price that would historically have been in painting’s domain.

This tendency was confirmed last year, when the highly respected Turner Prize was awarded to German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans—the first time in the prize’s history that it was given to a photographer. With this accolade, Tillmans follows in the footsteps of compatriots such as Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, and Thomas Ruff, who have already obtained worldwide success, and all three of whom were students of Bernd and Hilla Becher, yet another German photography success story. Andreas Gursky’s rise to market prominence began several years ago. At the Christie’s New York auction in November 1999, his piece Untitled IV (Prada), a large scale chromogenic color print, reached the surprising figure of $ 155,000 (€ 174,300) — almost twice its estimated value. He confirmed his reputation between 2000 and 2001 when many of his images sold at equally impressive prices. At Phillips New York, in November 2001, Prada III sold for $ 280,000 (€ 314,800), while in November of the same year, at Christie’s New York, his photograph Paris Montparnasse, reached the astounding price of $ 600,000 (€ 674,700), almost doubling its estimate.

On the other hand, smaller-scale pieces by Gursky reached only their minimum estimates, while many of them didn’t sell at all. This might lead one to surmise that Gursky’s market is more fashionable than stable. Even Gerard Goodrow, a contemporary art expert at Christie’s, remarks: “The prices for Gursky are crazy. His advantage is that when you see works from his “Prada,” “Hotel,” or “Stock Market” series, you see his signature right away. It is probable, however, that these prices will drop to an acceptable level. With Gursky, it’s hard to understand whether it’s just the size of his works that impresses.” It still holds true—especially given the success of his exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York—that Gursky deserves his eminent position in the history of art. It is nonetheless probable, however, that his prices will decrease rather than increase.

The market for Thomas Struth has been similar to that of Gursky, but it seems to be more stable. There has been a general increase in the value of his work, and many of the more fashionable pieces reach truly astronomical prices. In November 1999, at Christie’s New York, his cibachrome print Musée du Louvre sold for $ 160,000 (€ 180,000), four times its estimate. Half a year later, in May 2000 at Sotheby’s New York, a picture from the same series was already being estimated at $ 80,000-120,000 (€ 90,000-135,100), in fact selling for $ 176,250 (€ 198,460). In the same month at Christie’s Contemporary, Pantheon, Rome sold for three times its estimate at $ 270,000 (€ 292,760), while on the very same day at Sotheby’s New York, Galleria dell’Accademia I surprised everybody with a hammer price of $ 200,500 (€ 225,800). However, it is only the large-scale photographs—the “Museum” series in particular—which sustain these high prices. Struth’s smaller and less popular images of buildings and landscapes maintain more stable prices, ranging from $ 10,000-30,000 (€ 11,260-33,790) and most of his works on offer sold at auctions this year. For his most recent exhibition from his “America” series in March 2001, Berlin gallery Galerie Max Hetzler estimated prices between $ 30,760 (€ 34,670) (for works sized 200 x 230 cm) and $ 39,560 (€ 44,580) (for those sized 220 x 250 cm). With a US museum tour planned for Struth in mid-2002—including stops in Dallas, Los Angles, New York, and Chicago—his prices will probably remain stable. An increase is always possible, but prices seem to have settled at an acceptable level.

Another artist to emerge from the Becher stable is Thomas Ruff, who is only just recovering from a crash in his market value last year. In the 2000 auctions, his works were offered at prices ranging from $ 1,000 (€ 1,130) to $ 20,000 (€ 22,540). None were sold. With his new 2000 series however, taken from pornographic film stills, Ruff has started to make a comeback and the market has begun to re-evaluate his earlier works. These new pieces also helped to clarify the connection in his work between photography and painting and his relation to Gerhard Richter in particular, thus disassociating himself from the formalism of the Becher School. Works from the “Porno” series, which started at $ 12,000-$18,000 (€ 13,500-20,300), have already increased to $ 20,000-$30,000 (€ 22,560-33,840) in the space of one year. Ruff’s “Star” pictures have meanwhile levelled off at around $ 70,000 (€ 78,960). At Christie’s London, in June 2001, his colour print, 7h48m/-70 degrees, sold for $ 90,900 (€ 102,600), and another one from the same series, 21h32m/-60 degrees reached $ 99,500 (€ 112,250) at Christie’s New York. While these photographs have a great market potential, others, like the portraits, which have been bought by museums in the past but have alienated private collectors with their direct subject matter, have proved more difficult. For example, at Christie’s New York in May 2001, Petra Grote sold for $ 18,800 (€ 21,200), well under its estimate of $ 20,000-30,000 (€ 22,560-33,840). This instability in his market is probably a reflection of the fact that he is currently the most challenging and experimental of the German photographers.

The newest addition to this group of photography stars, Turner Prize winner Wolfgang Tillmans, is already considered an important name in the of history of art despite his relatively young age. Nonetheless, considering his celebrity status, the prices for his works are still reasonable. At Christie’s London in December 1999, his ink-jet print Chris Cunningham sold for $ 9,230 (€ 10,400), while at the same auction his C-Print Suzanne & Lutz, White Dress, Army Shirt sold for $ 18,460 (€ 20,800) — three times its estimate of $ 4,260-$7,100 (€ 4,800-8,000). The same image of Chris Cunningham in a C-print version was sold in June 2000 for $ 5,960 (€ 6,720) at Christie’s London. In January 2000, his gallery, Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne, raised his prices, but this preceded his Turner Prize nomination. His smaller works were raised from $ 880-1,760 (€ 992-1,980), while larger pieces went from $ 2,200-3,515 (€ 2,480-3,960) (all are in editions of fourteen). The most sought-after works are the older pieces from the early ’90s, his fashion photography and portraits of his friends, which can sell today for between $ 10,000-15,000 (€ 11,270-16,900). More recently, Tillmans started producing abstract works, which are sold by his gallery for $ 4,394 (€ 4,950). Tillmans’ market is generally larger than that of the other three photographers here cited, since he is a favourite with collectors of both fine art and photography and the European tour of Tillmans’ work that took place from September 2001, travelling to Hamburg, Paris, Turin, and Copenhagen, exposed his works to an even larger public.

Originally published in Tema Celeste (Summer 2001)