1. Introduction
Experienced photographic collectors or buyers of photographic art will
have little need for these notes. They are aimed rather at those who have an interest in
photography as 'Art', but are not sure how to go about choosing and buying photographs, or
even where to look for quality work.
Photographic collecting in the UK is still in its infancy, with a very
long way to go before it acquires the status and respectability it enjoys, for example, in
the USA. The great majority of UK collectors are still, for some strange reason,
unconvinced that photography can be 'Art' even though it is well established as an
art-form in many other parts of the world. There is a certain irony in this, as
photography as we know it (i.e. the negative/positive process, originally using 'salted
paper') was invented by an Englishman, William Henry Fox Talbot, some 150 years ago.
But if you enjoy visual 'Art' in the widest sense, and if you are a few
pounds short of buying your first Rembrandt, Constable or Canaletto, photographic
collecting has a great deal to offer because the market has price-bands to suit almost
every purse, and you can buy aesthetically pleasing images at almost any price-level.
Photographs can, of course, be investments as well as pleasing
possessions, and the market for 'quality' photographic images has risen generally over the
years. This, however, is an area in which experience, expertise, judgement and caution are
required - as in any other field of investment or speculation. In the early stages of
photographic collecting it is wise to buy modestly and for personal enjoyment rather than
for financial gain.
2. What to Collect
There are some generally recognised rules of the game, which are broadly
as follows. Collect something that you genuinely like - i.e. something you like for its
own sake, not just something you fancy for its possible investment value. Back your own
visual judgement, and develop your own aesthetic taste. Don't speculate financially unless
it is well within your means. Do try to find an area of specialisation, an area in which
you could become knowledgeable, even genuinely expert. If you decide to start a
specialist collection, your specialism could be limited to the work of one or two
photographers, or to particular types of photograph (e.g. Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes,
Albumen Prints, Cartes de Visite etc) or to particular subject-matter (e.g. fashion,
architecture, travel, railroads, wildlife) or to a particular period or location
(e.g. Victorian Photographs, or even Victorian London.)
In developing your visual taste and judgement, as well as your area of
specialisation, there is no substitute for wide reading and for seeing fine
photographs at first hand in galleries or museums. There is a world of difference between
'quality' or 'fine art' photographs and the material that most of us are exposed to on a
daily basis. The photographic press, amateur as well as professional, carries details of
photographic exhibitions which are held from time to time in most major cities. While not
all of these contain 'quality' work, or images which will suit your personal taste, work
exhibited by major photographers will almost certainly be technically sound, and will
probably include at least a proportion of aesthetically pleasing images.
As far as quality is concerned, there is in our view a great deal of
rubbish masquerading as photographic art, and there are far too many photographers who
spend their time pretentiously 'exploring the limits of light and space' or 'pushing
back the boundaries of the frame' (to name a couple of fictional but
not-so-far-fetched examples). If you share our views in this area, take comfort from the
fact that while there is no accounting for the vagaries of personal taste, in the long
term work of true quality tends to survive and increase in value, while
'rubbish' is eventually consigned to the dustbin. And if you think that a particular work
(or a body of work) - even if it is by a big-name photographer - is total rubbish, take
heart and back your judgement, you may very well be right! Time will certainly tell.
(Apologies for the sermon! We believe it needs to be said!)
3. Where to Buy
Photographs can be found in all kinds of strange places. At the very bottom end
of the scale, there are car-boot sales, garage sales, loft sales, house clearance
auctions, church bazaars, flea-markets, 'junk' shops, and local antique fairs. At
these venues interesting material will probably be very thin on the ground but there will
not be much competition, and knowledgeable buyers may well find bargains. (In most cases,
you need to get there early and have hard cash at the ready!)
It is more probable that your first purchases will be made at a formal photographic
venue, where the other buyers (and sellers) will know at least as much as you do about
what is on offer. These may be 'bring and buy' events organised by dealers, clubs or
groups of enthusiasts. In these circumstances you are much more likely to find something
you wish to buy, but rather less likely to make a financial 'killing'. If you read the
adverts in the photographic press, amateur as well as professional, you will probably find
these venues advertised as 'photo-fairs' , and they may well cover photographic equipment
- ancient and modern - as well as actual photographs. (For some people, cooking utensils
are more interesting than food!)
Moving further up the scale, exhibitions by individual photographers exist not only to
promote the photographer's work - so as to bring in fee-paying commissions - but also to
sell existing photographs. Also, print sales are often a means of helping to finance
exhibitions, even if they are not their primary purpose This kind of exhibition is
normally publicised in the local press. If it is an important exhibition it will be
more widely publicised - in the professional press, in specialist publications, and even
in the national press. If it is promoted by a professional association (e.g. the
Association of Photographers - see their Gallery in Domingo Street, London EC1)
prices may be on the high side, but the work is also likely to be of a high quality.
If the exhibition is promoting the work of a single, not very well known photographer,
there may be less publicity, but prices will probably be more modest.
Further up the scale, we come to the more serious business. In many major European
cities (and many 'not-so-major' American cities) you will find specialist art galleries
and dealers who buy and sell photographs as well as paintings . A proportion of these deal
only in photographs, and some specialise in the work of just a few photographers. For
example, the Photographer's Gallery in London handles the work of twenty or thirty 'Name'
photographers and has a dedicated Print Room as well as conventional gallery space for
exhibitions.
With the growth of Internet Commerce, there are now many 'Virtual' galleries on the
World Wide Web. Some are there to promote established 'physical' galleries, and may have
only a token web presence. At the other end of the scale, others exist almost entirely in
Cyberspace. The advantage of the Web is that it provides the means of visiting many
galleries around the world in the space of an afternoon or an evening, giving a much
clearer picture of what is available in the marketplace and - especially where price
information is displayed - helping to provide a much more informed market for the purchase
and sale of photographic art.
At the top end of the market the large auction houses, including Sotheby's, Christies
and other internationally known institutions hold specialist photographic auctions two or
three times a year. These are well publicised events and are normally carefully
orchestrated so that sales in the major international centres do not clash with each
other. Most of these institutions have a significant presence on the web, and this
provides a convenient way of checking on their auction calendars. (Our Useful Links web
page includes details of several major auction sites - including some with provision for
on-line bidding, should you nerves and bank-balance be up to that kind of pressure.)
Experienced collectors, especially those with deep pockets, often try to build a
personal rapport with one or two dealers who can keep them informed of any interesting
acquisitions, or new developments in their particular area of specialisation.
Regular visits to dealers, especially if you can manage to make a purchase now and
again, are a good way to start building useful contacts and staying in touch with
the market. If you are not able to manage that, reading the specialist
photographic press and visiting as many as possible of the 'virtual' galleries on the web
will also help keep you in touch with what is on offer
4. Prices
In a perfect economic world everyone would know the price at which every exchange of
goods or services took place and, armed with this information , they would know whether
the asking and offering prices for future transactions were fair and sensible.
Unfortunately, the real world isn't quite like that, and accurate price information is
sometimes hard to come buy. Prices achieved at auction are probably the best guide
to what a particular type of photograph is worth, and this information is normally in the
public domain. But, even here, prices reflect whether the market is buoyant or
depressed and do not necessarily reflect the long-term value of a purchase.
Even worse, the great majority of transactions do not take place at auction, and prices
for these - often privately negotiated between buyer and seller - may not be known at
all. But that is the way of the world, and the situation is no worse in the world of
photography than it is in, say, that of antique furniture, real estate, or second-hand
cars.
The most direct way to find out about prices is, of course, to visit dealers or
galleries and see what is on offer. This will not tell you whether the prices asked are
fair and reasonable, or whether they are open to negotiation, but it will give a
broad indication of what you can expect to pay.
Some of the major galleries publish a formal catalogue several times a year. Catalogues
are usually well illustrated productions, often with articles about leading photographers
and their work, as well as details of the gallery's current stock. Catalogues are normally
available on annual subscription, although some galleries do sell them individually. Some
are happy simply to supply listings of the current inventory, together with prices. Prices
may well be subject to negotiation, though probably not by new customers unless they are
planning to buy a number of items. Some dealers prefer to discuss prices face to face,
rather than issue lists as this provides at least some scope for flexibility. This
attitude is perhaps less common than it was. On-line catalogues, i.e. those
available on the world wide web, may not have the glossy appeal of the printed version but
they are easily accessible, and essentially free of charge.
Galleries with a presence on the World Wide Web normally display prices for at least
some of the items in their inventory and may have a more extensive price list available on
request. These websites tend to fall into two distinct groups. On the one hand there are
those that simply give details of the gallery's location, telephone and FAX numbers,
specialisms and perhaps details of the individual photographers represented. On the other
hand there are those who use their websites as active marketing devices, with newsletters,
stock-lists and sometimes quite ambitious 'virtual galleries' in which to display some, at
least, of their current stock. The latter group, in particular, are valuable sources of
information on current prices.
Auctions are perhaps the nearest thing we have to the open and equitable market we
would ideally like to see.
Richard Blodgett's excellent book, 'Photographs: A Collector's Guide' - though now
rather dated - (published 1979), and very hard to find, is a valuable source of
information on the workings of the Fine Art photography market, the auction circuit, and
how to glean information about prices actually paid. (Click here to view our
Bibliography pages for details of this and other relevant books.)
Gary Edwards' slightly less dated (1988) book, 'International Guide to Nineteenth
Century Photographers and Their Works : Based on Catalogues of Auction Houses and
Dealers', is also a very valuable reference work and is still readily available.
(Click here to find it in our Bookstore.)
One of the most valuable sources of all is currently provided by the Paris-based Artprice
organisation whose website (http://www.artprice.com)
provides a massive, searchable, online database of some 1.3 million fine art
auction transactions dating from 1987. Obtaining real data (as opposed to quite
interesting 'Demo' data) involves paying a subscription/registration fee, but the one-day
trial at a cost of 15 Euros allows you full access to all services for one day.
(There is also a wide range of monthly and annual subscription rates, depending on
the range of facilities you require.) While not trivial, the charges are not excessive if
you are considering spending serious money on buying photographic art - or any other kind
of art.
In addition to the website database, Artprice also offer an
extensive range of auction price information in the form of printed volumes or, if you
prefer, on CD-ROM. Charges for these reference materials are aimed principally
at dealers or serious collectors but, in that context, are not at all exorbitant.
5. Park Photo Services - On-line Gallery
Our modest picture gallery cannot compare with those of the eminent
dealers and establishments mentioned elsewhere in this site. On the other hand,
you will find in our gallery a range of tasteful images, pleasing to look at, and produced
to the highest archival standards. None of these images is available from any other
source, and for limited edition originals, our prices are very competitive. If you
see something you like here, you could do worse than buy it now.
6. Park Photo Services - Online Auction Room
We now have our own modest Online Auction
Service which visitors to this site may use to auction photographic prints,
equipment and other items of 'photographica' . We are not in any
way competing with the well known auction sites as this is a commission-free and almost
entirely automated service which aims simply to put buyers and sellers in touch with each
other.
7. Park Photo Services - Online Discussion Forum
You can also post your questions, thoughts, comments and opinions to the
new ParkPhoto Online Discussion Forum.. There are
currently four subject-related forums including one on Collecting Photographs. The
others cover General Photography, Darkroom Matters and Digital
Photography, and there is a 'For Sale and Wanted'
board. Contributions to these new services are somewhat thin on the ground at
present but will no doubt develop, as they become better known. |