MCCARTHY-WILLIAMS

Auction House

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BUY & SALE

To attend an auction and bid in person at McCarthy-Williams you will need to register for a paddle in advance of the sale by filling out and submitting a registration form. At this time we only accept live or telephone. To bid in an auction you will not be attending, please complete the form for either absentee or telephone bidding and submit via fax or email at least 24 hours before the sale. For absentee bids, McCarthy-Williams will bid on your behalf and attempt to purchase the lot for you at the lowest price, allowing for other bids and reserves, up to your pre-submitted maximum bid. For telephone bids, we will contact you during the sale, and a saleroom representative will bid live with you over the phone. Bid amounts do not include buyer’s premium and applicable sales tax.

PRIVATE SERVICES

McCarthy-Williams is dedicated to helping our clients in all aspects of collecting. In addition to providing selling and buying opportunities through auction, we broker private sales, offer assistance with appraisals, valuations and other financial services.

PRIVATE SALES

McCarthy-Williams’s auctions introduce consignors’ property to thousands of the most active collectors in all of our categories. When our clients desire discretion in acquiring or selling artwork, McCarthy-Williams’s Private Sales department focuses on the sale of important modern, post-war and contemporary works of art, design, edition works and photography. The department is integrated with the company’s network of international specialists so that collectors benefit from our firm’s extensive knowledge of the market. Transactions are executed rapidly with complete confidentiality.

APPRAISALS

McCarthy-Williams offers appraisals for estate and gift tax, charitable donation, insurance, estate and financial planning purposes. If necessary, preliminary evaluations can be made from photographs accompanied by detailed descriptions of each piece. We can then advise concerning the value of the property and suggest the best means for its formal appraisal or sale. If our clients are considering selling, we are pleased to provide auction estimates accompanied by a proposal for sale and a marketing plan to maximize the value of salable assets.

20TH CENTURY & CONTEMPORARY ART

The market for contemporary art has never been stronger and McCarthy-Williams’s distinguished standing in the field is best represented by the 2 auctions we hold in the category annually. Expertly presented and tightly curated, these auctions, comprised of blue chip paintings, drawings and sculptures, attract a deep international bidding pool eager to build and expand world class collections.

McCarthy-Williams have also been instrumental in creating an audience and market for the work of today’s generation of artists. Our ability to properly situate property in the secondary market executed by mid-career artists and emerging talent is unmatched. By identifying the best pieces, utilizing attractive estimates, and strategically placing each work within the larger context of our sales, we often inspire bidding at prices far above the primary market levels. We have realized breakout results for many mid-career artists, including Josignacio, Urs Fischer, David Hammons, Kelley Walker, Wade Guyton and Beatriz Milhazes across our auctions.

PHOTOGRAPHS

McCarthy-Williams Photographs department prides itself on its ability to cater to today’s ever-evolving collecting trends. Sales are uniquely distinguished for their balanced selection of classic and contemporary works that achieve strong results across all genres of the medium, including works by 20th century masters, such as Man Ray, Edward Weston, Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Robert Frank, and Robert Mapplethorpe, as well as contemporary stars, such as Hiroshi Sugimoto, Peter Beard, Cindy Sherman, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, and Desiree Dolron. The quality of the works offered has resulted in setting over 100 world auction records for established names, including Helmut Newton, Nobuyoshi Araki, Erwin Blumenfeld, Richard Misrach, Adam Fuss, and Edward Burtynsky. Further known for introducing artists to auction, they hold the world auction records for Alex Prager and Ruud Van Empel.

McCarthy-Williams’ various-owners auctions are complemented by successful sales of private collections, including Important Photographs from private collectors.

The McCarthy-Williams department actively pursues and maintains connections with key figures in the market, from curators and collectors, to advisors and dealers. The department’s ability to consistently produce top selling percentages, strong results, and new world auction records, attests to their commitment to their clients, and to offering the best examples of the medium in their auctions. The department is based in London. For more information about buying or selling photographs please contact the department.

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