Record prices at auction of Seagram art

The sale of Seagram’s $15-million art collection got off to a strong start over the weekend with an auction of 720 photographs that brought $2.8 million -- well over the high estimate of $2.1 million -- at Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg in New York. All the works were consigned by Vivendi Universal, the French entertainment conglomerate that acquired the 2,500-piece collection with its purchase of Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Inc. in late 2000, but is now liquidating $11.7 billion in assets to pay down its debt.

The auction commanded record prices for 30 artists, including William Eggleston, whose portfolio of 14 color prints depicting urban Memphis was sold for $185,000, the sale’s top price and more than the estimated high of $150,000. Made from 1974 to 1979, the vividly colored prints are prized as the artist’s early experiments with the dye-transfer process.

Walker Evans’ 1931 print “Main Street, Saratoga Springs, New York,” valued at $40,000 to $60,000, brought $101,575, the auction’s second highest price.

Every work was sold, largely because there were no reserves, the secret minimum prices often set by sellers. Although some buyers snagged bargains, others paid 10 times the estimated price. Robert Frank’s “Covered Car -- Long Beach,” valued at $5,000 to $7,000, was sold for $54,970. Prices include a service charge -- the “buyer’s premium,” which goes to the auction house -- of 19.5% on the first $100,000 and 10% on any portion above that.

*

MicroFest 2003

Where: Various venues

When: Next event: May 4

For info: www.microfest.org