Bernd and Hilla Becher - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale London Wednesday, October 21, 2020 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Zwirner & Wirth, New York
    Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2001

  • Exhibited

    New York, Zwirner & Wirth, Bernd & Hilla Becher: Photographs from the 1960s and 70s, 20 April - 9 June 2001

  • 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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257

Kühltürme, Beton

signed, titled and dated 'KÜHLTÜRME BETON Bernd Becher Hilla Becher 72' lower edge
black and white photographs mounted on artist's board, in 9 parts
each photograph 39.4 x 29.2 cm (15 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.)
board 139.7 x 100.3 cm (54 7/8 x 39 1/2 in.)

Executed in 1972.

Estimate
£80,000 - 120,000 Ω♠

Sold for £100,800

Contact Specialist

Tamila Kerimova
Specialist, Head of Day Sale, Director

20th Century & Contemporary Art

+44 20 7318 4065
tkerimova@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 21 October 2020