Paris, France — It was one of the highlights of the traditional autumn of the arts scene in Paris in the photography chapter whose centrepiece is Paris Photo which was held this year in the splendidly restored Grand Palais last November 7th through the 10th. In the midst of the fair on November 8th, the auction house of Artcurial held a sale devoted to the mythical archive of Paris Match the general-interest weekly known for its remarkable photography. The auction, entitled Paris Match, 75 Years of World History, brought some 80 famed and not so famed photographs from the magazine’s megalithic archive to the auction block with the hammer coming down for a resounding total of US$256,380 (241,411 €).

The highest bid went to Jack Garofalo’s iconic photograph of Jacques Chirac in 1987 resting on board the Concorde on his way to New Caledonia for an official visit. The photograph, which pictures Mr. Chirac — at the time the Prime Minister of France — wearing an in-fight mask and slippers, sold for US$17 417/16 400€ well above its estimate of US$ 5,000-5,700 (4,800€-5500€) to an anonymous French buyer, underscoring the increasing value of press photographs. Another highlight was Paul Slade’s photograph of the Mohamed Ali and Floyd Patterson 1965 historic heavyweight boxing match in Las Vegas which sold for US$ 6,561(6,298€) nearly double its estimate of US$2,600-3,646 (2,500€ – 3,500€). Special to The Gourmet Gazette.
https://www.artcurial.com/en