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Delicious fields (Champs Délicieux) Sotheby's New York. Despite the recent scandal regarding Man Ray's reprints sold as originals, collectors were not afraid to push bidddings well over the US $ 150,000 pre-sale estimate. Recent sales have shown that the market for phtographies has reached new heights though collectors are being confronted with the hard task of sifting rare and average prints, the danger being that in a few years there will be drastic revisions. The same week Philips also organised a sale in New York during which Man Ray's famous «Solarized Nude» of 1931 reached US $ 156,500 against a high pre-sale estimate of US $ 80,000. Man Ray's photos prove to be the most expensive on the market. As an example, «Glass tears» fetched US $ 266,500 at auction at Christie's in 1997, the world record price stands at US $ 398,500 for a print by Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) of Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) «Hands with a thimble» sold at Christie's in 1993. The second best price was recorded by a André Kertesz (1894-1985) silver print of Mondrian's pipe and glasses, 1926, which fetched US $ 376,500 at Christie's in April 1997. Numerous collectors originate from the show-business and cinema circles and are expected to be joined by at least 200 big buyers in the near future. |
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