Christie's Photography Auctions

For collectors of photography next week is the time to head to Christies' in New York. There are three auctions for photography buffs. The first up are the flowers of Robert Mapplethorpe on October 10. Mapplethorpe may be infamous for his erotic nudes, but he also had a way with flowers. The picture shown here is "Poppy," a dye-transfer print from 1988 and estimated to sell for $40,000-$60,000. Also on October 10 is the Elfering Collection auction which boasts a number of fine works by Richard Avedon, Edward Weston, Irving Penn and Horst P. Horst including Avedon's stark black and white of the scarred and bare torso of Andy Warhol. The third auction takes place on October 12 and features photographs by Diane Arbus and Alfred Steiglitz. Given that a film about Arbus starring Nicole Kidman has recently been filmed, it seems likely that the the Arbus photographs will do particularly well.