Bernd and Hilla Becher - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale London Wednesday, October 3, 2018 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Artist Biography

    Bernd and Hilla Becher

    German • Bernd 1931-2007 - Hilla 1934-2015

    Husband and wife Bernd and Hilla Becher began photographing buildings and relics of the Industrial Revolution, such as coal mines and cooling towers, in 1959. Like objective scientists removing a specimen from the field, the Bechers framed their subject in a manner that isolated it from its environment. Often, these stark, beautifully detailed prints were then displayed in grid-like structures, forming stunning 'Typologies'.

    By the time Bernd Becher became a professor at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1976 (policy would not allow Hilla to be a simultaneous appointment), the Bechers' photographs, with their seemingly neutral point of view and serial display, were already being applauded by the international art world as important works of Minimal and Conceptual Art.

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Property from the Collection of an Important European Collector

247

Water Tower Typology

signed and dated 'Bernhard Becher Hilla Becher 1979-1985' on the reverse of part 1; further consecutively numbered '1,2,3,4' on the reverse of each part
gelatin silver print, in 4 parts
each 40.4 x 31.4 cm (15 7/8 x 12 3/8 in.)
Executed in 1979-85.

Estimate
£35,000 - 55,000 

Sold for £62,500

Contact Specialist
Tamila Kerimova
Specialist, Head of Day Sale
+ 44 20 7318 4065
tkerimova@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 4 October 2018