Sex Sells

Phillip de Pury & Company’s SEX auction of erotic artwork in London netted more than $2 million on 19 March 2010. Ironically, there was a 69 percent sell-through rate by lot; but in auction terms, that rate is considered modest at best. While some experts referred to the achieved prices as flaccid, the sale did manage to generate a lot of press — particularly for a 1992 pantsless picture France’s first lady, Carla Bruni, by Helmut Newton.

(photo by Michael Dweck)

Sex Sells