An Investment Flash: The Rate of Return for Photographs

Abstract

Although the general public has not completely recognized photography as an investment alternative, art collectors are snapping up the work of photographic masters at record prices. In October 1993, a vintage photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe: A Portrait-Hands with Thimble, sold for $398,500 at Christie's International auction house.' This bettered the previous record price of $193,895 set in May 1993 by a Man Ray photograph. Even if these prices do not approach the millions of dollars paid in recent years for work of impressionistic painters, these record prices have attracted investors' attention. The objective of this study is to examine the investment value of photographic prints. The market for collectible photographs boomed in the 1980s as investors became aware of the value of photographs as an investment, especially as an alternative to the high prices of paintings and sculpture. Although various studies have investigated the investment value of collectibles such as paintings [1; 2; 9; 18; 26], prints [20; 22], coins [6], Stradivarius violins [24], wine [16], and antique furniture [12], there have been no detailed studies of the performance of photographs as financial assets.