Bernd and Hilla Becher - Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale London Friday, October 11, 2024 | Phillips

Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 11 October 2024

  • Condition Report

  • Description

    View our Conditions of Sale.

  • Provenance

    Sonnabend Gallery, New York
    Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2003

  • 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 of a Distinguished Private Collection

130

Bernd and Hilla Becher

Gas Tanks (Spherical)

signed 'Hilla Becher Bernd Becher' on the reverse of the first part; signed and titled 'GAS TANKS Bernd Becher Hilla Becher' on a label affixed to the backing board of the first part; numbered on the reverse of each part
black and white photographs, in 9 parts
each image 40.5 x 31 cm (15 7/8 x 12 1/4 in.)
each framed 56.3 x 46.2 cm (22 1/8 x 18 1/4 in.)
overall framed 171.9 x 141.6 cm (67 5/8 x 55 3/4 in.)
Executed in 1988.

Estimate
£60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠

Place Advance Bid
Contact Specialist

Simon Tovey
Director, Head of Day Sale, London
+44 7502 428 688
stovey@phillips.com

 

 

Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 11 October 2024