14 DAY TRIAL // One thing that no one can have doubts about is that art and its products would never suffer from the economic crisis. Beauty is indeed priceless, and Christie's keeps reminding us that. Yesterday's New York auction succeeded in breaking down two previous price records, for two unique photos in the famous Constantiner Collection, one signed by Helmut Newton, sold for $662,500, and the other featuring the all-time diva Marilyn Monroe, worth about $146,500.
The masterpiece “Sie Kommen, Paris, 1981” signed by the reputed photographer, believed nowadays to be the most talented and inspired of the past century, has surpassed, in high style, his selling record of $380,725, reached in 2007. The artist is mostly known for his studies of feminine bodies, as well as for his unique shoots in fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
Marilyn's shoot “The Last Sitting,” taken by Bert Stern, was evaluated in 1994 for $63,000. Still, as biographers believe that is one of her last pictures before her mysterious death, its price doubled in the meantime. The Constantiner Collection is actually comprised of more than 100 of Marilyn images, being the largest to feature Norma Jean's pictures.
The collection including these two top photos was allegedly sold for some amazing $7.7 million. Philippe Garner, one of Christie's experts, explains the phenomenon, “The superb results achieved for this collection demonstrate the potential of works bought with true passion and considerable connoisseurship to perform magnificently even in the present uncertain economic climate. The results also confirm the central position that Helmut Newton has rightly been accorded as a master photographer of the 20th century, and, of course, Marilyn Monroe's magical appeal has proven to be truly timeless.”