'Remarkable' Bahrain Formula One photo to go under hammer in Scarborough sale

German photographer and professor Gursky is renowned for huge, digitally manipulated, images that today attract some of the highest prices ever paid for the work of a living photographer.

One of his pictures, a 6ft x12 feet photograph of the River Rhine, sold for a world record $4.3m in 2011.

The signed photograph in Friday’s auction is an aerial shot of the international motor racing circuit in Bahrain.

Gursky gave it to the vendor Philip Speechly as thanks for his help during the photoshoot.

Dominic Cox, an art specialist with David Duggleby, said: “Back in 2005 Gursky was working on a Formula 1 series and he wanted to take aerial shots of the newly-completed Bahrain International Circuit.

"Philip was a member of the team working on the motor racing track project and he facilitated the helicopter flights that saw Gursky able to take hundreds of shots over several days.

“At the time Philip had never even heard of Gursky but he and the photographer hit it off, indeed during the flights he took photographs of Gursky taking photographs.

“A few weeks later, completely out of the blue, a cardboard tube arrived in the post containing this amazing image from the shoot, inscribed in pencil ‘For Mr Speechly, Thanks for your great co-operation,’

"Andreas Gursky.

“We had been crawling with photojournalists from all over the world during the construction of the circuit so the instruction to arrange helicopter flights for this German photographer did not seem so unusual.

The thought did cross my mind that we already had hundreds of aerial shots of the circuit – did we really need any more?

“Gursky was a really nice guy, friendly, very professional and, of course, I was blown away by his remarkable photograph.

"We did have hundreds of aerial shots of the circuit but nothing like the image that he created.”

Philip said he was surprised when the photograph arrived in the post and thought it was a kind gesture.

Just how kind only became clear some time later when he realised what a huge and influential figure Gursky had become in the art photography world.

The framed picture has had a pride of place on Philip’s wall for almost 20 years, until the jaw-dropping day when he walked into the Duggleby valuation day at Gisborough Hall to have it assessed.

How much will it make when it goes under the hammer in the Winter Fine Art Sale on Friday?

Dominic said: “Nobody’s getting carried away.

"It is Gursky’s massive prints that attract the six or seven figure sums.

"Nevertheless it goes into the Winter Fine Art Sale with a pre-sale estimate £20,000-£30,000.”

The 330-lot auction is one of the largest fine art sales to be staged at the Vine Street Salerooms in Scarborough.

Other highlights include four pencil sketches attributed to LS Lowry and a large entry of Staithes Group paintings.

Viewing is taking place throughout the week including Friday morning from 9am until the start of the sale at 11am.

Visit www.davidduggleby.com to see the catalogue.