Moonrise for sale

Monophoto · Nov 28, 2009

Swann Auction Galleries in NY will be offering a vintage print of Adam's Moonrise at auction this week. It is expected to sell for a mere $350000 - 450000!

The print is one of Adam's earlier versions of this image. Instead of the inky black sky, there is a subtle range of grays, and a whole lot more detail in the foreground.

The image can be seen on pages 8/9 of the auction catalog.

Incidentally, the catalog indicates that the print is mounted on Crescent board. So much for the notion that dry-mounted prints won't sell.

Christopher Walrath · Nov 28, 2009

Wow. Where vision and preparation meet opportunity. I wish I could sell a print for 3500 - 4500. Heck, 350 - 450, who am I kidding!

Jim Chinn · Nov 28, 2009

Of course it helps the sale price for the artist to have built quite a legacy and be dead for 25 years. Anyone know what Ansel was selling "Moonrise" for prior to his death in 1985?

I looked through the catalogue and it is quite a collection of photographs up for auction. My favorite of the bunch is the Harry Callahan image of trees in winter simply titled "Chicago". That is one of my favorite photographs of all time. But alas at $15,000-$20,000 it is out of my price range.

Peter Black · Nov 28, 2009

This is just a touch out of my price range , but at least it has prompted me to order his 2010 calendar at the rather more affordable price of £8.98(Amazon UK or $12.91 Amazon.com)!

DanielStone · Nov 28, 2009

wowee, 350-450k. big money. print's not that big though. didn't he print that up to 30x40 or some awful size? Heard on KFI recently that this is the kind of thing that rich folks are "investing" in, art, and tangible objects. To me its smart, as long as it appreciates in value over time.

btw, steve mccury's AFGHAN GIRL (cibachrome is in there as well)

pg. 201 5-7k is the estimated selling price. If I had the disposable income for it, I'd get it .

-Dan

Joe Lipka · Nov 29, 2009

Jim Chinn said:
Of course it helps the sale price for the artist to have built quite a legacy and be dead for 25 years. Anyone know what Ansel was selling "Moonrise" for prior to his death in 1985?

I looked through the catalogue and it is quite a collection of photographs up for auction. My favorite of the bunch is the Harry Callahan image of trees in winter simply titled "Chicago". That is one of my favorite photographs of all time. But alas at $15,000-$20,000 it is out of my price range.

This much I know. When I was in Carmel in 1977, my wife became a "Moonie" and wanted to purchase "Moonrise." Ansel was selling his 16 x 20 images at that time for $1500. We couldn't afford it at that time, so we settled for a couple of Cole Weston prints of "Pepper Number 30" and "Nude 227" for $150 each.

keithwms · Nov 29, 2009

Joe Lipka said:
We couldn't afford it at that time, so we settled for a couple of Cole Weston prints of "Pepper Number 30" and "Nude 227" for $150 each.

Why don't you go ahead and rub it in...!

So, any of these prints pretty much blow any financial investment out of the water, no?

Jeff Kubach · Nov 29, 2009

At that price I would like to have two of them.

Jeff

Monophoto · Nov 29, 2009

I saw a 30x40 Moonrise on sale at the Gallery of Fine Photography in New Orleans in 1990 - the price was $45,000.

If the auction next week brings in $450,000 - that's about a 12.5% rate of return.

Maybe I should tell my SmithBarney guy about this?

photomem · Nov 29, 2009

Anyone else notice that the William Eggleston books listed are quite cheap compared to other photographers?

bill schwab · Nov 29, 2009

Joe Lipka said:
...a couple of Cole Weston prints of "Pepper Number 30" and "Nude 227" for $150 each.

Those will now fetch you between 5 and 7,000. Not a bad investment either.

JBrunner · Nov 29, 2009

The online catalog- Is it some kind of pdf? It's slick!

Dave Pritchard · Nov 29, 2009

A friend once told me that Ansel worked for years, and did not get squat for his work until he hired a professional agent.

DanielStone · Nov 29, 2009

Dave Pritchard said:
A friend once told me that Ansel worked for years, and did not get squat for his work until he hired a professional agent.

ya, I remember hearing this as well. very interesting. I believe it was one of his former assistants who was good at accounting or something along those lines...

Just imagine if E.W. had done that. but then again, he worked alone most of the time. Ansel used assistants quite a bit.

-Dan

Joe Lipka · Nov 30, 2009

billschwab said:
Those will now fetch you between 5 and 7,000. Not a bad investment either.

Investment? It's art! In order to profit from anything, you must part with it, sell it and it is no longer part of your life. To bring top dollar, you must sell through a gallery. The result of the "top dollar" sale is to split the proceeds with the gallery which pretty much cuts your return in half.

Until they are sold, the photographs are worth exactly what I paid for them.

And, no, I won't part with them for what I paid for them.

WolfTales · Nov 30, 2009

Strange that the Moonrise is only $450k when a Rothko can go for $72mm...

JBrunner · Nov 30, 2009

WolfTales said:
Strange that the Moonrise is only $450k when a Rothko can go for $72mm...

There are 200+ of Moonrise, while a Rothko is a one off. Even though far fewer people have heard of Rothko compared to St Ansel, the cache in the art world of having an original Rothko is huge in comparison. For a person of average means an AA photograph (not Moonrise) is still attainable if that is something they really want bad enough, simply because Ansel printed a lot of them.

WolfTales · Nov 30, 2009

I can't imagine making 200 prints! Amazing...

Most I'll make are 5 copies

Joe Lipka · Dec 1, 2009

If you could clear $450,000 per copy, I'll bet you would make as many as you could.

Then again, we are talking about a negative made in the early 1940's that was printed until the mid 1970's. Don't forget, Ansel employed a series of assistants that made most of his prints. And if you look at the list of Ansel's assistants, you will see some really, really good printers.

I do believe that the number of Moonrise prints sold is closer to 1,000 than 200.

perkeleellinen · Dec 1, 2009

There's another version of Moonrise in that catalogue with a darker sky valued at $30-40,000.

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