The Portrait That Set Sally Mann's Auction Record
3 min read · 16 Jan 2025
Candy Cigarette. Image courtesy of Phillips de Pury
Sally Mann, Candy Cigarette (1989), sold for $266,500 at Phillips de Pury in New York on April 4, 2012. The gelatin silver print work, which is signed, titled, dated and numbered 8/25 in pencil on the verso, had not been traded before.
The portrait of Mann's young daughters, which focuses on Jessie, who looks directly at the camera with a candy stick as if smoking, is the most famous image from the artist's photography book "Immediate Family". First published in 1992, the series of images it contains, often featuring her children as they grew up in Virginia, remains controversial, not least because of 13 images depicting nudity.
The sale beat Mann’s previous auction record by $198,000, a 275% rise. An editioned print of the same image, Candy Cigarette (1989), sold for $68,500 at Christie's sale, "Photographs by Sally Mann from a Private Collection", held on October 7, 2009.
A Brief History of Sally Mann at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012-04-04 | Candy Cigarette | $266,500 | 289 % | Phillips de Pury | New York |
2009-10-07 | Candy Cigarette | $68,500 | 44 % | Christie's | New York |
2008-12-16 | Candy Cigarette | $47,500 | 8 % | Christie's | New York |
2007-04-25 | Virginia at 6 | $44,000 | 16 % | Phillips de Pury | New York |
2006-10-18 | Night blooming Cereus | $38,000 | 36 % | Phillips de Pury | New York |
2004-04-27 | Deep South no 32 | $28,000 | 8 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2000-04-05 | Shiva at Whistle Creek | $26,000 | - | Christie's | New York |
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