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Sotheby's Brandei Estes on the art of the photograph
The head of the auction house's photography department talks taste, trends and technique when it comes to appreciating the form
Appreciation of photography has changed considerably – there are far more galleries specialising in it now than there were just a decade ago. But it's still a young market if you take into consideration the fact that the very first photo was only taken around 175 years ago. It's still a small market too. Despite the meteoric rise of contemporary art prices, photography is still relatively affordable. And beyond this, it's appealing for several reasons.
For one, it's transparent, relative to the fine art world – phone a gallery and ask them the price of a photo and they will tell you. And people interested in collecting are better informed – there’s a better understanding of art that is endlessly reproducible, that you need to understand the image's provenance and the size of the edition, keeping in mind that some expensive photographs can still be open editions. There's also a finer appreciation for what makes for a great photograph. People say: "well, it's easy to take a photo". That’s true. People do take nice photos. But show a photo in the context of art and most people get the difference.
After that it's a question of taste and trends – and I have to say that certainly I’m baffled by some photographers' work and wonder how they sell anything, especially when it's a question more of technique than of subject matter. For a long time fashion photography, for example, was regarded as being inferior but now it's receiving the glory it deserves, whether that be photography from the 1930s or the present day. Similarly, a lot of 19th century photography is either in museums or in private collections, so that market has slowed down – but the collectors are older now so we might see more of that back on the market soon.
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Some images are just always in demand – the American greats like Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Robert Frank, just made beautiful images. You can’t ever forget the power of aesthetics when it comes to the appeal of a photograph. You have to work hard to relate to a lot of contemporary photography – some people might even regard it as ugly – and that in turn makes it harder to live with.
But I think our appreciation for photography will only get more and more sophisticated. There’s been a rise in interest in photography competitions and there are more fairs such as Photo London. Young people also have the technology to explore photography now, maybe seeing what they take on their smart-phones as just a start – an introduction to older forms too. Photography is in a good place right now.
BRANDEI ESTES is head of the photography department at Sotheby’s auction house, London. Sotheby’s next major auction of photographic works will be held on 19 May; sothebys.com
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