MODERN PHOTO
1902-1917 Camera Work
2011 SOLD 400 K$ INCLUDING PREMIUM
In the history of art, some artists endeavoured to show the path. Alfred Stieglitz had a vision of modern art, first in photography, which is the subject of this article, but also later in the graphic arts when he became the husband of an exceptional personality, Georgia O 'Keeffe.
The key to the success of Stieglitz was undoubtedly his authoritarian temperament, reluctant to compromise in regard to his theories. Young photographer influenced by the pictorialist trend, he wanted to have photography considered among the major fine arts.
He met with the distressing conservatism of the photo clubs, whose leaders were more interested in the techniques than in the results. He found his way through the publication of a quarterly magazine named Camera Work.
The first issue, dated January 1903 but released in December 1902, already included the features that would make the prestige of the magazine: a dozen pictures in each volume, the exceptional quality of the photogravure supervised personally by Stieglitz, the highlighting of the work of an artist (Gertrude Käsebier in the number 1). The publication stopped at number 50 in 1917.
A complete set of Camera Work is for sale on October 5 by Sotheby's in New York. It is estimated $ 200K. Five photos are shown in the catalog, but more are available in the Camera Work page of Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
This remarkably complete set was sold $ 400K including premium, well above its estimate.
The key to the success of Stieglitz was undoubtedly his authoritarian temperament, reluctant to compromise in regard to his theories. Young photographer influenced by the pictorialist trend, he wanted to have photography considered among the major fine arts.
He met with the distressing conservatism of the photo clubs, whose leaders were more interested in the techniques than in the results. He found his way through the publication of a quarterly magazine named Camera Work.
The first issue, dated January 1903 but released in December 1902, already included the features that would make the prestige of the magazine: a dozen pictures in each volume, the exceptional quality of the photogravure supervised personally by Stieglitz, the highlighting of the work of an artist (Gertrude Käsebier in the number 1). The publication stopped at number 50 in 1917.
A complete set of Camera Work is for sale on October 5 by Sotheby's in New York. It is estimated $ 200K. Five photos are shown in the catalog, but more are available in the Camera Work page of Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
This remarkably complete set was sold $ 400K including premium, well above its estimate.
1907 THE AUTOCHROMES
2008 SPECIAL REPORT
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Concerning the amateur photography, the autochrome plates, a trademark deposited by Lumière company, represented a step forward. In 1907, the rich amateurs make photography since more than half a century, Kodak made photography popular since nearly 20 years and Jules Richard made in the same way with the stereoscopy since a little more than 10 years.
In 1907 Lumière displays the color photography, now accessible to everybody. Viewed now in 2008, these photographs with their pastel look are seldom perfect, and their value depends on it, obviously. The grain (our pixel of today) is very important, which harms legibility for the small sizes. The exposure time is long, the shades are often dark, which harmed the artistic character at the very time when the speed of the films allowed beautiful instantaneous shootings in black and white.
In the history of the autochrome plates, two names are detached. One remained known: Albert Kahn used this technique to build his photographic archives of planet. The other fell into the oblivion of memory, and it is a pity: Leon Gimpel was however an artist recognized and hyperactive in the Parisian photographic circles of the time.
On May 15, 2007, Artcurial has restarted the market for autochrome plates. The amateurs were eclectic, putting aside the minor pieces and sorting those whose artistic character and technical quality were worth to highlight them. So did a still life of strawberries, of 18x24 cm size, exceed 11 K€ including fees on an estimate of 2 K€. Of the same source and format, a superb still life with fried eggs exceeded 9 K€ and a view with petunias 4 K€.
These works were anonymous, but now there are autochrome plates of Leon Gimpel himself being announced by Artcurial for its sale of May 27 at the Hotel Dassault in Paris. The photographs announced in the press release are smaller than the three masterpieces of last year. The announced estimates are low. If it happens that they reach similar amounts as those of last year, that would mean that the interest of the amateurs goes again on the very rare best photographs of this technique, and it would be so much better.
POST SALE COMMENT
The autochromes sold last year, which I mentioned above, were truly exceptional pieces. Thus is explained the fact that the highest price the day before yesterday in this section is 2.35 K € fees included, for a photo of Leon Gimpel. 2 K € went on a 13x18 of anonymous author showing the front of a bakery.
Autochromes of 18 lots out of 27 remained unsold.
Concerning the amateur photography, the autochrome plates, a trademark deposited by Lumière company, represented a step forward. In 1907, the rich amateurs make photography since more than half a century, Kodak made photography popular since nearly 20 years and Jules Richard made in the same way with the stereoscopy since a little more than 10 years.
In 1907 Lumière displays the color photography, now accessible to everybody. Viewed now in 2008, these photographs with their pastel look are seldom perfect, and their value depends on it, obviously. The grain (our pixel of today) is very important, which harms legibility for the small sizes. The exposure time is long, the shades are often dark, which harmed the artistic character at the very time when the speed of the films allowed beautiful instantaneous shootings in black and white.
In the history of the autochrome plates, two names are detached. One remained known: Albert Kahn used this technique to build his photographic archives of planet. The other fell into the oblivion of memory, and it is a pity: Leon Gimpel was however an artist recognized and hyperactive in the Parisian photographic circles of the time.
On May 15, 2007, Artcurial has restarted the market for autochrome plates. The amateurs were eclectic, putting aside the minor pieces and sorting those whose artistic character and technical quality were worth to highlight them. So did a still life of strawberries, of 18x24 cm size, exceed 11 K€ including fees on an estimate of 2 K€. Of the same source and format, a superb still life with fried eggs exceeded 9 K€ and a view with petunias 4 K€.
These works were anonymous, but now there are autochrome plates of Leon Gimpel himself being announced by Artcurial for its sale of May 27 at the Hotel Dassault in Paris. The photographs announced in the press release are smaller than the three masterpieces of last year. The announced estimates are low. If it happens that they reach similar amounts as those of last year, that would mean that the interest of the amateurs goes again on the very rare best photographs of this technique, and it would be so much better.
POST SALE COMMENT
The autochromes sold last year, which I mentioned above, were truly exceptional pieces. Thus is explained the fact that the highest price the day before yesterday in this section is 2.35 K € fees included, for a photo of Leon Gimpel. 2 K € went on a 13x18 of anonymous author showing the front of a bakery.
Autochromes of 18 lots out of 27 remained unsold.
1907-1930 Curtis sponsored by Morgan
2018 unsold
Born in Wisconsin, Edward S. Curtis spent a few years in Minnesota where he was passionate about observing Indian tribes. Established in Seattle, the young man became a photographer. Princess Angeline, the daughter of Chief Seattle who had given his name to the city, was an elderly woman who liked to be photographed for a small fee. Her portrait by Curtis in 1896 is admirable.
In 1904 Curtis photographed President Roosevelt's children. In 1906 at the inaugural parade of Roosevelt's second term, he photographed Geronimo and five other Indian chiefs on the White House lawn. Enthusiastic about outdoor living and beautiful things, Roosevelt recognizes Curtis' skills and recommends him to banker J. Pierpont Morgan.
Morgan enthusiastically agrees to fund Curtis' project of a set that describes and compares Indian tribes, illustrated with small photogravures within 31 x 24 cm text volumes and full-size sepia photogravures in 52 x 24 cm portfolios. The first volume is published in 1907. The full title is The North American Indian Being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the Indians of the United States and Alaska.
Curtis will accomplish alone his enormous task as a field researcher and illustrator, apparently without fail in his friendly acceptance by the tribes. The original goal of a five year work is impossible to maintain. The series is completed in 1930 with 20 text volumes including 1503 photogravures and 20 portfolios including 723 photogravures without duplicates between the two sets of images.
Morgan had reserved the first copy for himself and the next 24 for donations to institutions. Number 11 was given by Morgan from 1908 to the Cooper Union Library. Remaining complete, it is estimated $ 1M for sale by Swann Galleries in New York on October 18, lot 57. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In 1904 Curtis photographed President Roosevelt's children. In 1906 at the inaugural parade of Roosevelt's second term, he photographed Geronimo and five other Indian chiefs on the White House lawn. Enthusiastic about outdoor living and beautiful things, Roosevelt recognizes Curtis' skills and recommends him to banker J. Pierpont Morgan.
Morgan enthusiastically agrees to fund Curtis' project of a set that describes and compares Indian tribes, illustrated with small photogravures within 31 x 24 cm text volumes and full-size sepia photogravures in 52 x 24 cm portfolios. The first volume is published in 1907. The full title is The North American Indian Being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the Indians of the United States and Alaska.
Curtis will accomplish alone his enormous task as a field researcher and illustrator, apparently without fail in his friendly acceptance by the tribes. The original goal of a five year work is impossible to maintain. The series is completed in 1930 with 20 text volumes including 1503 photogravures and 20 portfolios including 723 photogravures without duplicates between the two sets of images.
Morgan had reserved the first copy for himself and the next 24 for donations to institutions. Number 11 was given by Morgan from 1908 to the Cooper Union Library. Remaining complete, it is estimated $ 1M for sale by Swann Galleries in New York on October 18, lot 57. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1907-1930 THE WILMINGTON SPECIMEN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN
2013 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
A complete set of the North American Indian by ES Curtis is estimated $ 1M for sale by Christie's in New York on October 3. It includes 723 plates 39 x 28 cm divided into 20 portfolios and 20 volumes of texts illustrated by about 1500 photos of smaller size. Here is the link to the catalog.
This specimen has already been discussed in this column. It remained unsold at Christie 's on October 8, 2009, a crisis year for the art market. It had been presented at that sale by the Wilmington Institute Library and was most likely sold soon afterward in private sale, perhaps in post sale by Christie's.
The arrival on the market of a complete copy was rightly regarded as an event. Another set had been sold for $ 607K including premium by Swann in October 2001, a price then considered as exceptional for a photo book.
Later, two important results were recorded : a specimen in a wonderful freshness condition reached $ 2.9 million including premium at Christie's on April 10, 2012, and a copy assembled by Lauriat was sold for $ 1.44 million including premium by Swann on October 4, 2012 .
I focused in 2009 on the importance of this work. I republish this text below:
"I introduce an extraordinary man who devoted his life to become both a familiar of Native American tribes and their photographer.
"Although prolific, Curtis was a perfectionist, who designed his images sometimes several years before shooting them, taking into account the random movement of tribes, the weather conditions, the mood of the Indians of whom he wanted to represent the characters and customs as a whole.
"He appreciated that he was witnessing the end of a civilization. He was able to have his work acknowledged by all his Indian interlocutors, although most of them remained fierce, as we know, in their considerations for White men.
"His work of thousands of photographs was summarized under the title "The North American Indian", in a selection of 2500 photogravures printed from 1907 to 1930 in 20 large volumes which are one of the most achieved monuments in the history of photography."
A complete set of the North American Indian by ES Curtis is estimated $ 1M for sale by Christie's in New York on October 3. It includes 723 plates 39 x 28 cm divided into 20 portfolios and 20 volumes of texts illustrated by about 1500 photos of smaller size. Here is the link to the catalog.
This specimen has already been discussed in this column. It remained unsold at Christie 's on October 8, 2009, a crisis year for the art market. It had been presented at that sale by the Wilmington Institute Library and was most likely sold soon afterward in private sale, perhaps in post sale by Christie's.
The arrival on the market of a complete copy was rightly regarded as an event. Another set had been sold for $ 607K including premium by Swann in October 2001, a price then considered as exceptional for a photo book.
Later, two important results were recorded : a specimen in a wonderful freshness condition reached $ 2.9 million including premium at Christie's on April 10, 2012, and a copy assembled by Lauriat was sold for $ 1.44 million including premium by Swann on October 4, 2012 .
I focused in 2009 on the importance of this work. I republish this text below:
"I introduce an extraordinary man who devoted his life to become both a familiar of Native American tribes and their photographer.
"Although prolific, Curtis was a perfectionist, who designed his images sometimes several years before shooting them, taking into account the random movement of tribes, the weather conditions, the mood of the Indians of whom he wanted to represent the characters and customs as a whole.
"He appreciated that he was witnessing the end of a civilization. He was able to have his work acknowledged by all his Indian interlocutors, although most of them remained fierce, as we know, in their considerations for White men.
"His work of thousands of photographs was summarized under the title "The North American Indian", in a selection of 2500 photogravures printed from 1907 to 1930 in 20 large volumes which are one of the most achieved monuments in the history of photography."
1912 THE TRUE FACE OF GUSTAV KLIMT
2009 SOLD for € 27.6K including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The outstanding qualities of the paintings by Gustav Klimt are undeniable, whether for composition or for technique. 2006 pushed him to the highest summit of art history, with two portraits of Adele Bloch-Bauer. The first reached $ 135 million in a private sale and the second $ 88 million at auction at Christie's.
The man had a sulfurous reputation, because of intense sexual activity. His art was recognized and he could afford to defy the social Viennese conventions. Visitors met a prematurely aged man, with rebel thinning hair, dressed in a sort of blanket without any ornament, wearing simple sandals.
All of this is known and increases the attractiveness of a photographic portrait made by Moritz Nähr in 1912, very typical of the description I discussed above. The nicely smiling artist looks at the photographer and carries in his arms a black and white cat.
This silver bromide contact print, 24 x 18 cm, is estimated 25 K €. It will be sold at Vienna on December 5 by WestLicht Photographica Auction. The auction house, which specialized exclusively in the photographic material, diversifies and offers old photographs for the first time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photo so typical of the image that people have of Klimt was sold 23 K € before fees.
The outstanding qualities of the paintings by Gustav Klimt are undeniable, whether for composition or for technique. 2006 pushed him to the highest summit of art history, with two portraits of Adele Bloch-Bauer. The first reached $ 135 million in a private sale and the second $ 88 million at auction at Christie's.
The man had a sulfurous reputation, because of intense sexual activity. His art was recognized and he could afford to defy the social Viennese conventions. Visitors met a prematurely aged man, with rebel thinning hair, dressed in a sort of blanket without any ornament, wearing simple sandals.
All of this is known and increases the attractiveness of a photographic portrait made by Moritz Nähr in 1912, very typical of the description I discussed above. The nicely smiling artist looks at the photographer and carries in his arms a black and white cat.
This silver bromide contact print, 24 x 18 cm, is estimated 25 K €. It will be sold at Vienna on December 5 by WestLicht Photographica Auction. The auction house, which specialized exclusively in the photographic material, diversifies and offers old photographs for the first time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photo so typical of the image that people have of Klimt was sold 23 K € before fees.
1920 Interlude below a Roof Dormer
2017 SOLD for $ 730K including premium
Bored of a traditional family life, Edward Weston is pushed into the bohemian lifestyle of Los Angeles by Margrethe Mather. He is charming and loves the women. His affairs are short but generate lasting friendships.
Edward and Margrethe are influenced by the circle of Stieglitz but New York is too far away for them. They seek an original conception of photographic art based on the catching of geometry in scenes of daily life. The nude female breast is a favorite theme of Edward.
For some years Edward has replaced silver with palladium which offers a great subtlety in the shades of gray and a lustrous surface. For his best images he is already looking for perfection. The complexity of his work in the dark room requires a painstaking preparation and his early palladium prints are very rare.
At the end of 1920 Edward spent two weeks of passionate love with Betty whom he had met in a nightclub. He is photographing her in several rooms of her house. On October 10 in New York, Christie's sells Betty in Her Attic, a 23 x 19 cm palladium print on 46 x 35 cm paper, titled, signed and dated 1920 on the mount. This photo is estimated $ 600K, lot 323.
This composition between surrealism and constructivism is highly original in the art of Weston. Its main theme is the light transmitted to the white walls through an out of field dormer window. The oblique setting of the attic is reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the famous movie released a few months earlier.
The woman in her long dress is standing in the darkness, coiled in an angle of the wall. Her silhouette is underlined by a geometrically illogical shadow that was certainly added in the lab. A foot reaches a spot of light on the ground like an invitation to dance.
Five years later the details of Miriam's nude body will make Edward Weston the best photographer of his time.
Edward and Margrethe are influenced by the circle of Stieglitz but New York is too far away for them. They seek an original conception of photographic art based on the catching of geometry in scenes of daily life. The nude female breast is a favorite theme of Edward.
For some years Edward has replaced silver with palladium which offers a great subtlety in the shades of gray and a lustrous surface. For his best images he is already looking for perfection. The complexity of his work in the dark room requires a painstaking preparation and his early palladium prints are very rare.
At the end of 1920 Edward spent two weeks of passionate love with Betty whom he had met in a nightclub. He is photographing her in several rooms of her house. On October 10 in New York, Christie's sells Betty in Her Attic, a 23 x 19 cm palladium print on 46 x 35 cm paper, titled, signed and dated 1920 on the mount. This photo is estimated $ 600K, lot 323.
This composition between surrealism and constructivism is highly original in the art of Weston. Its main theme is the light transmitted to the white walls through an out of field dormer window. The oblique setting of the attic is reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the famous movie released a few months earlier.
The woman in her long dress is standing in the darkness, coiled in an angle of the wall. Her silhouette is underlined by a geometrically illogical shadow that was certainly added in the lab. A foot reaches a spot of light on the ground like an invitation to dance.
Five years later the details of Miriam's nude body will make Edward Weston the best photographer of his time.
1921 interpretation of labor by lewis hine
2018 SOLD for $ 81k including premium
In its beginnings photography was a document, most often used to record personal memories. Lewis Hine is a pioneer in applying this technique to support a social message.
When he was a young sociology teacher in New York City, he took his students to Ellis Island where he photographed the immigrants. From 1908 he is the photographer of the National Child Labor Committee which denounces child abuses. He hides his camera during his visits of the production lines to avoid reprisals and forfeitures by the foremen who are upset by his interference in their daily practice.
Hine discloses his images through lectures and through publications in magazines. A photo must be perfect for hitting the reader.
In 1920 Lewis Hine observes the interface between the adult man and the machine. A first series of photos is published in December 1921 in The Survey Graphic magazine. He also makes 18 x 12 cm silver prints of these images.
Among them the photo of the worker busy with a steam pump is his masterpiece. The head, torso and arms fit into the perfect circle of the piece of equipment, certainly under the influence of Leonardo's circle of the ideal proportions of man.
An 18 x 12 print was sold for $ 270K including premium by Sotheby's on September 30, 2014 over a lower estimate of $ 70K. Another one is also estimated $ 70K for sale by Swann in New York on February 15, lot 60.
When he was a young sociology teacher in New York City, he took his students to Ellis Island where he photographed the immigrants. From 1908 he is the photographer of the National Child Labor Committee which denounces child abuses. He hides his camera during his visits of the production lines to avoid reprisals and forfeitures by the foremen who are upset by his interference in their daily practice.
Hine discloses his images through lectures and through publications in magazines. A photo must be perfect for hitting the reader.
In 1920 Lewis Hine observes the interface between the adult man and the machine. A first series of photos is published in December 1921 in The Survey Graphic magazine. He also makes 18 x 12 cm silver prints of these images.
Among them the photo of the worker busy with a steam pump is his masterpiece. The head, torso and arms fit into the perfect circle of the piece of equipment, certainly under the influence of Leonardo's circle of the ideal proportions of man.
An 18 x 12 print was sold for $ 270K including premium by Sotheby's on September 30, 2014 over a lower estimate of $ 70K. Another one is also estimated $ 70K for sale by Swann in New York on February 15, lot 60.
An Exceptional Circa 1921 Print of Lewis Hine’s Powerhouse Mechanic Could Command $100,000 at Swann Auction Galleries https://t.co/DT2s3pvhVX pic.twitter.com/Qlb7nww40A
— SGSwritereditor (@SGSwritereditor) February 1, 2018
1921 rebecca in the dark
2015 unsold
After the First World War, a new photographic art starts in New York. Around Stieglitz and Steichen, the achievement of an image is a continuous chain of technical feats from the choice of the theme to the processing of the positive print in the darkroom.
Photographers are seeking an emotional expression in the most extreme and difficult lights. They endeavor to try any chemical formula that could improve the quality of the image.
Some artists have their muse who becomes the favorite theme of their art, like Georgia O'Keeffe with Stieglitz. Paul Strand is working with Rebecca Salsbury from 1920. He is photographing her face close-up in the dark with reflections of light in the white of her eyes that invite for the feat of the future positive print. He works by contact with the best platinum or palladium papers and experiments the effect of thermal treatment on the gloss of the picture.
On April 1 in New York, Sotheby's sells a diagonal portrait of Rebecca's face by Paul, dated 1921 from a negative of the same year, one year before their marriage. This platinum print 20 x 25 cm is estimated $ 300K, lot 38.
In the same technique and same format, the face of Rebecca shot from front side with a straight gaze in 1923 was sold for $ 650K including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008 in the auction of the Quillan collection.
Photographers are seeking an emotional expression in the most extreme and difficult lights. They endeavor to try any chemical formula that could improve the quality of the image.
Some artists have their muse who becomes the favorite theme of their art, like Georgia O'Keeffe with Stieglitz. Paul Strand is working with Rebecca Salsbury from 1920. He is photographing her face close-up in the dark with reflections of light in the white of her eyes that invite for the feat of the future positive print. He works by contact with the best platinum or palladium papers and experiments the effect of thermal treatment on the gloss of the picture.
On April 1 in New York, Sotheby's sells a diagonal portrait of Rebecca's face by Paul, dated 1921 from a negative of the same year, one year before their marriage. This platinum print 20 x 25 cm is estimated $ 300K, lot 38.
In the same technique and same format, the face of Rebecca shot from front side with a straight gaze in 1923 was sold for $ 650K including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008 in the auction of the Quillan collection.
1920S RATTLE, SPOOL AND MUZZLE
2010 SOLD 290 K$ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In the early 1920s, young artists keen of experiments and theories are beginning to integrate photography. Curiously, it seems that Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy did not know each other when they started to realize respectively Rayographs and Photograms. Man Ray was a Dada, and Moholy-Nagy an admirer of Malevich.
In such photographs made without a camera or lens, objects are placed directly on or over the photographic surface, and are more or less blurred according to their distance to this plane.
The Fotogramm by Moholy-Nagy for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 13 uses a child's rattle lying on its handle, a spool of roll film, and a muzzle suspended in space. This 24 x 18 cm proof is annotated on the back by the artist, and includes a dedication to Zervos. It is estimated $ 200K.
This is only a photograph, indeed, but it is also abstract art, and its use of photographic paper as the material of the artwork is positioning it within the transition between Suprematism and Minimalism.
This image is a recent discovery: it remained unpublished until last year.
POST SALE COMMENT
This little known image is rather austere. It did not surge out of its range of estimates. It was sold $ 290K including premium.
In the early 1920s, young artists keen of experiments and theories are beginning to integrate photography. Curiously, it seems that Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy did not know each other when they started to realize respectively Rayographs and Photograms. Man Ray was a Dada, and Moholy-Nagy an admirer of Malevich.
In such photographs made without a camera or lens, objects are placed directly on or over the photographic surface, and are more or less blurred according to their distance to this plane.
The Fotogramm by Moholy-Nagy for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 13 uses a child's rattle lying on its handle, a spool of roll film, and a muzzle suspended in space. This 24 x 18 cm proof is annotated on the back by the artist, and includes a dedication to Zervos. It is estimated $ 200K.
This is only a photograph, indeed, but it is also abstract art, and its use of photographic paper as the material of the artwork is positioning it within the transition between Suprematism and Minimalism.
This image is a recent discovery: it remained unpublished until last year.
POST SALE COMMENT
This little known image is rather austere. It did not surge out of its range of estimates. It was sold $ 290K including premium.
1923 A Face in Close Up
2017 SOLD for $ 490K including premium
Championed by Stieglitz and influenced by Steichen, Paul Strand transformed with them the art of photography. He practiced contact prints of the photos he took with his 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm) camera. Like all the great photographers of his time, he experimented with metals, solvents and thermal conditions for optimizing the contrast, the sharpness and the brilliance of his images.
As also a film cameraman, Strand is throughout his long career a spontaneous interpreter of what he sees. Influenced by his initial formation with Lewis Hine, his main subject of interest is the social testimony. From 1920 to 1923 in New York the portraits of his muse Rebecca whom he married in 1922 form an intimate exception in his art.
The close-up face is a difficulty for the photographers because the observer will be disappointed by the optical deformations in the refraction by the lens. The solution found by Strand is to put the sitter in an almost total darkness. The veil set by Steichen in 1924 on the face of Gloria Swanson certainly has a similar cause.
By improving the platinum prints Strand had become a virtuoso of black. This luxurious paper was too expensive for the young artist and such early prints are rare.
I discussed in this column a portrait of Rebecca made in 1921 by Paul Strand. The oblique head is heightened over a pillow and the lighting makes the eyes shine. This platinum print passed at Sotheby's on April 1, 2015.
The most emotional picture in this series is realized in 1923. The face in close-up occupies the whole image and the gaze barely more lightened than the surrounding skin is straight and frank. The slightly shiny tip of the nose provides the additional mark for a comfortable viewing by the observer.
The platinum print from the Quillan collection was sold for $ 650K including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008. In the same technique the print from the Spiegel collection is estimated $ 500K for sale by Christie's in New York on October 10, lot 11.
As also a film cameraman, Strand is throughout his long career a spontaneous interpreter of what he sees. Influenced by his initial formation with Lewis Hine, his main subject of interest is the social testimony. From 1920 to 1923 in New York the portraits of his muse Rebecca whom he married in 1922 form an intimate exception in his art.
The close-up face is a difficulty for the photographers because the observer will be disappointed by the optical deformations in the refraction by the lens. The solution found by Strand is to put the sitter in an almost total darkness. The veil set by Steichen in 1924 on the face of Gloria Swanson certainly has a similar cause.
By improving the platinum prints Strand had become a virtuoso of black. This luxurious paper was too expensive for the young artist and such early prints are rare.
I discussed in this column a portrait of Rebecca made in 1921 by Paul Strand. The oblique head is heightened over a pillow and the lighting makes the eyes shine. This platinum print passed at Sotheby's on April 1, 2015.
The most emotional picture in this series is realized in 1923. The face in close-up occupies the whole image and the gaze barely more lightened than the surrounding skin is straight and frank. The slightly shiny tip of the nose provides the additional mark for a comfortable viewing by the observer.
The platinum print from the Quillan collection was sold for $ 650K including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008. In the same technique the print from the Spiegel collection is estimated $ 500K for sale by Christie's in New York on October 10, lot 11.
1923-1928 the hidden language of the rayographs
2017 both unsold
In New York and then in Paris where he settled in July 1921, Man Ray was one of the leaders of the Dada movement. He added a titillating trend including his Priapic works of 1920 and his series of photographs in 1921 of Duchamp female duplicate Rrose Sélavy (Eros c'est la vie). The questioning of art is in full swing in the Parisian avant-gardes where Tzara manages to confuse 'artistic' and 'arthritic'. All provocations are welcome.
In his new specialty as a photographer Man Ray imagines to position solid or openwork objects directly on the photosensitive surface. 80 years earlier Talbot had a similar practice for photographing the ferns. In such a process each image is unique.
Man Ray identifies his innovation as Rayographs coined on his own artist's name. Surrealists and Dadaists are delighted. The installation of everyday artefacts reminding the ready mades is appealing to the realists and the disturbing composition excites the poets.
A 24 x 18 cm Rayograph was sold on April 4, 2013 for $ 1.2M including premium by Christie's over a lower estimate of $ 250K. Printed in a magazine in the spring of 1922 with a praise by Cocteau, this image had certainly been the very first published Rayograph.
On October 10 in New York, Christie's sells two Rayographs de-accessioned from the Museum of Modern Art.
Lot 103 is estimated $ 200K. This 30 x 24 cm Rayograph made in 1923 invites to an erotic interpretation with two eggs flanking a stem that points into a lace doily. It had belonged to Tzara.
Lot 102 estimated $ 150K is a symmetrical composition that can form a head, a stool or a cloudy sky. It was made in 1928 in a larger size than the two examples discussed above, 39 x 30 cm.
In his new specialty as a photographer Man Ray imagines to position solid or openwork objects directly on the photosensitive surface. 80 years earlier Talbot had a similar practice for photographing the ferns. In such a process each image is unique.
Man Ray identifies his innovation as Rayographs coined on his own artist's name. Surrealists and Dadaists are delighted. The installation of everyday artefacts reminding the ready mades is appealing to the realists and the disturbing composition excites the poets.
A 24 x 18 cm Rayograph was sold on April 4, 2013 for $ 1.2M including premium by Christie's over a lower estimate of $ 250K. Printed in a magazine in the spring of 1922 with a praise by Cocteau, this image had certainly been the very first published Rayograph.
On October 10 in New York, Christie's sells two Rayographs de-accessioned from the Museum of Modern Art.
Lot 103 is estimated $ 200K. This 30 x 24 cm Rayograph made in 1923 invites to an erotic interpretation with two eggs flanking a stem that points into a lace doily. It had belonged to Tzara.
Lot 102 estimated $ 150K is a symmetrical composition that can form a head, a stool or a cloudy sky. It was made in 1928 in a larger size than the two examples discussed above, 39 x 30 cm.
1924 Gloria with the Veil
2014 SOLD 630 K$ including premium
Edward Steichen seconded Stieglitz to create the movement of the Photo-Secession. He became the pioneer of fashion photography and sought to express the psychology of important people. While Stieglitz showed that photography is an art, Steichen had an equally important role when working for the magazines.
In 1924 the new wonder of the silent film is Gloria Swanson. She went for a sitting in Steichen's New York studio.
Gloria is 25 years old. Dynamic and enjoying, she accepts to play the game. The decisive accessory is a veil of black lace with a leaf pattern through which she looks at the photographer. The artist and the model deepen this theme. Thus was born one of the early masterpieces of celebrity photography. Her wide open eyes provide the young actress with the strength of a leopardess.
Steichen was ahead of his time. This image was not published until February 1928 when the glory of the star is already threatened by the talkies.
An early print 24 x 20 cm is estimated $ 300K, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 1, lot 15 in the catalog. Another copy of same size was sold for $ 540K including premium by Phillips de Pury on April 24, 2007.
POST SALE COMMENT
This early print of an outstanding photo was sold for $ 630K including premium.
In 1924 the new wonder of the silent film is Gloria Swanson. She went for a sitting in Steichen's New York studio.
Gloria is 25 years old. Dynamic and enjoying, she accepts to play the game. The decisive accessory is a veil of black lace with a leaf pattern through which she looks at the photographer. The artist and the model deepen this theme. Thus was born one of the early masterpieces of celebrity photography. Her wide open eyes provide the young actress with the strength of a leopardess.
Steichen was ahead of his time. This image was not published until February 1928 when the glory of the star is already threatened by the talkies.
An early print 24 x 20 cm is estimated $ 300K, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 1, lot 15 in the catalog. Another copy of same size was sold for $ 540K including premium by Phillips de Pury on April 24, 2007.
POST SALE COMMENT
This early print of an outstanding photo was sold for $ 630K including premium.
1924 the four women of professor koppitz
2018 sold for $ 400k including premium
Trained as a retoucher, Rudolf Koppitz teaches photographic techniques in Vienna at the time of the Wiener Werkstätte. He prefers group exhibitions to solo exhibitions and his personal approach is poorly documented.
With his very young wife Anna, Rudolf practices naturist photography including self-portraits. They express the beauty of healthy athletic bodies in the mountains.
In 1924 the photo titled Bewegungsstudie (Study of movement) is his masterpiece. It stages four standing women. The eight bare feet are arched to dance. The woman in the foreground is fully naked, her body thrown back. The other three have very dark dresses that constitute a frame around the nude.
Who are they ? It is assumed that the nude acrobat was a ballerina of the Wiener Staatsoper. The same group appears mid-length in a similar outfit in another composition. The closer view shows an undeniable resemblance of the faces from one another. How many different women are featured in these pictures ?
The Professor tries his best laboratory formulas. A 56 x 42 cm print annotated 'Combin Gummidruck' (combination of gums) and numbered 1 probably marks the best of Koppitz's practice, with very rare hues revealing the details in the black clothes. This achievement is contemporary of the experiments to master the black by Steichen or Strand.
This print is estimated $ 200K for sale by Phillips in New York on April 9, lot 96.
With his very young wife Anna, Rudolf practices naturist photography including self-portraits. They express the beauty of healthy athletic bodies in the mountains.
In 1924 the photo titled Bewegungsstudie (Study of movement) is his masterpiece. It stages four standing women. The eight bare feet are arched to dance. The woman in the foreground is fully naked, her body thrown back. The other three have very dark dresses that constitute a frame around the nude.
Who are they ? It is assumed that the nude acrobat was a ballerina of the Wiener Staatsoper. The same group appears mid-length in a similar outfit in another composition. The closer view shows an undeniable resemblance of the faces from one another. How many different women are featured in these pictures ?
The Professor tries his best laboratory formulas. A 56 x 42 cm print annotated 'Combin Gummidruck' (combination of gums) and numbered 1 probably marks the best of Koppitz's practice, with very rare hues revealing the details in the black clothes. This achievement is contemporary of the experiments to master the black by Steichen or Strand.
This print is estimated $ 200K for sale by Phillips in New York on April 9, lot 96.
1925 The Perfect Forms of Miriam
2017 SOLD for $ 870K including premium
In 1923 Edward Weston embarks for Mexico with Tina Modotti and one of his sons. He leaves behind him in the United States his wife Flora and their three other sons. The highly active Tina is his sponsor and model and helps the photographer to enter the socialist circles of Mexico City.
The encounter with the avant-garde artists of Mexico transforms Edward's artistic vision, now oriented towards the quest for perfect forms in ordinary artefacts and in bodies. Tina is 27 years old. She is slim and pretty. Edward studies the details such as her hands crossed on the dress and he also photographs her in full nudity.
Tina probably does not respond to Edward's aesthetic ideal. He resumes a contact with Miriam Lerner whom he had briefly met before leaving for Mexico. Miriam's gorgeous body between shoulders and buttocks meets the erotic and artistic desires of the photographer. They live together a passionate love in the early months of 1925 in Edendale, Los Angeles, before he comes back to Mexico City where Tina did not stop working for his glory.
A 13 x 24 cm matte silver print showing the waving geometric shapes of Miriam's nude back in a reclining position was sold for $ 1,6M including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008 over a lower estimate of $ 600K.
On April 6 in New York, Christie's sells a highly rare palladium print 18 x 23 cm pencil dated 1925 and located in Edendale, lot 7 estimated $ 400K, not inscribed to Miriam but originally presented by the artist to her.
This study shows the nude body in a twist resting on both shoulders and on the edge of a buttock. The use of palladium brings a lustrous surface with very subtle hues in the grays for a soft vision that reinforces the suggestive eroticism of this headless chest.
The encounter with the avant-garde artists of Mexico transforms Edward's artistic vision, now oriented towards the quest for perfect forms in ordinary artefacts and in bodies. Tina is 27 years old. She is slim and pretty. Edward studies the details such as her hands crossed on the dress and he also photographs her in full nudity.
Tina probably does not respond to Edward's aesthetic ideal. He resumes a contact with Miriam Lerner whom he had briefly met before leaving for Mexico. Miriam's gorgeous body between shoulders and buttocks meets the erotic and artistic desires of the photographer. They live together a passionate love in the early months of 1925 in Edendale, Los Angeles, before he comes back to Mexico City where Tina did not stop working for his glory.
A 13 x 24 cm matte silver print showing the waving geometric shapes of Miriam's nude back in a reclining position was sold for $ 1,6M including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008 over a lower estimate of $ 600K.
On April 6 in New York, Christie's sells a highly rare palladium print 18 x 23 cm pencil dated 1925 and located in Edendale, lot 7 estimated $ 400K, not inscribed to Miriam but originally presented by the artist to her.
This study shows the nude body in a twist resting on both shoulders and on the edge of a buttock. The use of palladium brings a lustrous surface with very subtle hues in the grays for a soft vision that reinforces the suggestive eroticism of this headless chest.
1925 The Artistic Escapade of Edward Weston
2013 SOLD 480 K$ including premium
Edward Weston loved photography and young women. Encouraged by Stieglitz, he makes sharp images and begins studying fragments of the body.
In 1925, attracted by Miriam Lerner, he leaves his residence in Mexico for a short romantic break in California. The naked body of his friend inspires him. The study of curves is totally artistic, and photography escapes from its naturalist and documentary shackles.
A platinum print of Miriam's torso with crossed arms, 24 x 19 cm, was sold for $ 313K including premium by Sotheby's on 15 October 2007.
On April 4 in New York, Christie's sells a palladium print of the same image, estimated $ 400K. I will indicate later its dimensions.
Made at the same place and in the same year, a photograph of a laying female back, 13 x 23 cm, was sold for $ 1.6 million including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008. This minimalist body can not be formally identified but is quite probably Miriam's.
This series opens up the extraordinary comparison by Weston between female body and nature. The beauty of curves is the unsettling common point between the nude, shells, peppers and sand dunes.
POST SALE COMMENT
This interesting nude was sold $ 480K including premium. Considering the small size of the image, 15 x 17 cm, this is a very good result.
In 1925, attracted by Miriam Lerner, he leaves his residence in Mexico for a short romantic break in California. The naked body of his friend inspires him. The study of curves is totally artistic, and photography escapes from its naturalist and documentary shackles.
A platinum print of Miriam's torso with crossed arms, 24 x 19 cm, was sold for $ 313K including premium by Sotheby's on 15 October 2007.
On April 4 in New York, Christie's sells a palladium print of the same image, estimated $ 400K. I will indicate later its dimensions.
Made at the same place and in the same year, a photograph of a laying female back, 13 x 23 cm, was sold for $ 1.6 million including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008. This minimalist body can not be formally identified but is quite probably Miriam's.
This series opens up the extraordinary comparison by Weston between female body and nature. The beauty of curves is the unsettling common point between the nude, shells, peppers and sand dunes.
POST SALE COMMENT
This interesting nude was sold $ 480K including premium. Considering the small size of the image, 15 x 17 cm, this is a very good result.
1925 Travel into the Core of a Magnolia
2010 SOLD 242 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In the 1920s, the photographers have a new insight, influenced both by modern art and by the progress of their equipment. Their quest for purity of forms brings them to nature, whose close-up views offer an infinite variety of topics.
In 1925, the U.S. photographer Imogen Cunningham is checking the magnolia flowers. Her approach is similar to that of Edward Weston: focusing for the greatest possible clarity, soft gray shades of the prints. The curiosity of the observer is fueled by the comparison between the details of nature and those of the human body. Both artists contribute to the creation of Group f.64, in San Francisco in 1932.
On April 15 in New York, Christie's auctions a photo of the core of a magnolia blossom by Cunningham. The print, 23 x 29 cm, is a vintage one: the catalog indicates that it predates a handling error that has left traces in the negative.
This wonderful intrusion into the world of plants is estimated $ 250K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold 242 K $ including premium, this photo remained well below its low estimate.
In the 1920s, the photographers have a new insight, influenced both by modern art and by the progress of their equipment. Their quest for purity of forms brings them to nature, whose close-up views offer an infinite variety of topics.
In 1925, the U.S. photographer Imogen Cunningham is checking the magnolia flowers. Her approach is similar to that of Edward Weston: focusing for the greatest possible clarity, soft gray shades of the prints. The curiosity of the observer is fueled by the comparison between the details of nature and those of the human body. Both artists contribute to the creation of Group f.64, in San Francisco in 1932.
On April 15 in New York, Christie's auctions a photo of the core of a magnolia blossom by Cunningham. The print, 23 x 29 cm, is a vintage one: the catalog indicates that it predates a handling error that has left traces in the negative.
This wonderful intrusion into the world of plants is estimated $ 250K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold 242 K $ including premium, this photo remained well below its low estimate.
1927 Nautilus by Weston
2007 SOLD for $ 1.1M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2016 before the auction of another photo by Christie's (see below)
From 1923 to 1927 two photographers travel in Mexico. They do not have the same desires and their separation is inevitable. Tina Modotti is a revolutionary activist and Edward Weston looks at naked bodies.
Back in California, Edward finds a new muse. He shows his pictures to Henrietta Shore who rebuffs him : you bore us with too many nudes. In an approach that is reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe's wild flowers on the other side of the United States, Henrietta watches eroticism and mysticism in the voluptuous forms of the nature.
Edward is convinced. Henrietta let him handle her collection of sea shells. The series of 14 negatives of portraits of empty shells on a black background realized by Weston in 1927 is a masterpiece of art photography.
Edward is aware of his own achievement and realizes many positive prints in that first year. The Nautilus is his favorite picture. He is a great photographer who does not keep an imperfect print. Two prints of this famous photograph fetched a nearly identical price at Sotheby's : 1.1M including premium on 15 October 2007, lot 18, and 1,08M including premium on April 13, 2010.
A highly rare positive print from the sixth negative passed at Christie's on October 4, 2016.
The photos of peppers made by Edward Weston in 1930 follow a similar artistic desire.
Back in California, Edward finds a new muse. He shows his pictures to Henrietta Shore who rebuffs him : you bore us with too many nudes. In an approach that is reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe's wild flowers on the other side of the United States, Henrietta watches eroticism and mysticism in the voluptuous forms of the nature.
Edward is convinced. Henrietta let him handle her collection of sea shells. The series of 14 negatives of portraits of empty shells on a black background realized by Weston in 1927 is a masterpiece of art photography.
Edward is aware of his own achievement and realizes many positive prints in that first year. The Nautilus is his favorite picture. He is a great photographer who does not keep an imperfect print. Two prints of this famous photograph fetched a nearly identical price at Sotheby's : 1.1M including premium on 15 October 2007, lot 18, and 1,08M including premium on April 13, 2010.
A highly rare positive print from the sixth negative passed at Christie's on October 4, 2016.
The photos of peppers made by Edward Weston in 1930 follow a similar artistic desire.
1927 Weston on Beach
2010 SOLD 1.08 M$ including premium
Edward Weston loved women, beach and photography. He had the idea to make minimalist images with great sharpness.
When details are involved, everything is mixed, a different world unfolds. A dune resembles a woman's back and the back of a woman resembles a dune. Thus an image of 1925, 13 x 24 cm, showing a naked woman from shoulders to buttocks reached $ 1.6 million including premium at Sotheby's on April 7, 2008.
In 1927, the artist is interested in shells. The most famous photograph of this series shows an empty nautilus, seen by the side of its aperture, well lit before a black background. This picture is disturbing in its simplicity. It is art. A copy of the nautilus of Weston, 24 x 18 cm, was sold $ 1.1 million including premium on October 15, 2007, by Sotheby's. It had been printed on matte paper on the year of the negative.
On April 13 in New York, the same auction house is selling another copy of the same photograph with the same characteristics, estimated $ 300K. The history of this copy had begun with emotion. It was offered for $ 10 in a gallery of San Francisco. A young client loved it at first sight, but she had no money for such a purchase. She was to pay by monthly installments of 50 cents before she could finally got it. This lot was unknown to the market as it remained in her family until now.
The image is shown as thumbnail above the press release shared by News-Antique.
POST SALE COMMENT
Is this an extraordinary regularity of the photographic market, or a mere coincidence? Sold $ 1.08 million including premium, this copy of the Nautilus of Weston reached almost the same price as the other copy sold in 2007.
When details are involved, everything is mixed, a different world unfolds. A dune resembles a woman's back and the back of a woman resembles a dune. Thus an image of 1925, 13 x 24 cm, showing a naked woman from shoulders to buttocks reached $ 1.6 million including premium at Sotheby's on April 7, 2008.
In 1927, the artist is interested in shells. The most famous photograph of this series shows an empty nautilus, seen by the side of its aperture, well lit before a black background. This picture is disturbing in its simplicity. It is art. A copy of the nautilus of Weston, 24 x 18 cm, was sold $ 1.1 million including premium on October 15, 2007, by Sotheby's. It had been printed on matte paper on the year of the negative.
On April 13 in New York, the same auction house is selling another copy of the same photograph with the same characteristics, estimated $ 300K. The history of this copy had begun with emotion. It was offered for $ 10 in a gallery of San Francisco. A young client loved it at first sight, but she had no money for such a purchase. She was to pay by monthly installments of 50 cents before she could finally got it. This lot was unknown to the market as it remained in her family until now.
The image is shown as thumbnail above the press release shared by News-Antique.
POST SALE COMMENT
Is this an extraordinary regularity of the photographic market, or a mere coincidence? Sold $ 1.08 million including premium, this copy of the Nautilus of Weston reached almost the same price as the other copy sold in 2007.
1927 German Portraits
2014 SOLD for $ 750K including premium
Portrait photographer based in Cologne, August Sander assembled in parallel a large series of pictures of German people shown through their jobs, under the generic title Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts.
The highly social idea of this miner's son was to testify that the dignity of men could have survived the First World War. He published a selection of 60 of his Menschen in 1929 under the title Antlitz der Zeit (Faces of our time), anticipating by 26 years Steichen's great compilation of The Family of Man.
Handlanger, the brick wearer, is an important image in the Antlitz selection. The worker with a straight gaze performs his task without complaining about his burden in a natural attitude which excludes pride.
A 21 x 15 cm print dated 1927 of Handlanger mounted on paper and protected by a vellum was sold for £ 265K including premium by Sotheby's in London on 27 October 1999, in the first part of the sale of the Jammes collection. It is estimated $ 350K, for sale bySotheby's in New York on December 11, lot 16.
The same auction includes a 28 x 20 cm portrait of the painter Anton Räderscheit, lot 36 estimated $ 150K. Well introduced in the circles of progressive artists, Sander, who made several portraits of Otto Dix, was abused by the Nazis and many of his photographs were destroyed.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Portrait of the brick wearer : $ 750K.
Portrait of the painter : $ 270K.
The highly social idea of this miner's son was to testify that the dignity of men could have survived the First World War. He published a selection of 60 of his Menschen in 1929 under the title Antlitz der Zeit (Faces of our time), anticipating by 26 years Steichen's great compilation of The Family of Man.
Handlanger, the brick wearer, is an important image in the Antlitz selection. The worker with a straight gaze performs his task without complaining about his burden in a natural attitude which excludes pride.
A 21 x 15 cm print dated 1927 of Handlanger mounted on paper and protected by a vellum was sold for £ 265K including premium by Sotheby's in London on 27 October 1999, in the first part of the sale of the Jammes collection. It is estimated $ 350K, for sale bySotheby's in New York on December 11, lot 16.
The same auction includes a 28 x 20 cm portrait of the painter Anton Räderscheit, lot 36 estimated $ 150K. Well introduced in the circles of progressive artists, Sander, who made several portraits of Otto Dix, was abused by the Nazis and many of his photographs were destroyed.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Portrait of the brick wearer : $ 750K.
Portrait of the painter : $ 270K.
1927 The Mating of Two Empty Shells
2013 SOLD 530 K$ including premium
The series of photos of nautilus shells made by Edward Weston in 1927 is the victory of photographic art against documentary photography. It gives a soul and even an organic look to these empty shells washed up on the beach.
The "portrait" of a shell in front view on black background is the most famous image in this series. Its sharp vision is confusing the observer, but it is still respecting zoology: a single shell is featured.
One of the best reasons of Weston's prestige is the extreme care brought by him in his prints. In 1927, he worked on matte paper. Two different copies 24 x 18 cm of the nautilus made that year from the same negative were recently sold by Sotheby's : $ 1.1 million including premium on October 15, 2007, $ 1.08 million including premium on 13 April 2010.
The photo to be sold on April 5 by Sotheby's in New York is from the same year, same size and same photographic technique, but from another negative that can no longer excite the biologists.
With a beautiful surrealist influence which is not surprising at that date, Weston has nested a shell in the cavity of another one without breaking them. The axis angle between both elements creates the illusion of a strange gaze to this still life.
This masterpiece which is contemporary of Weston's negative is a rare photograph, estimated $ 600K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 530K including premium, remains far below the estimate. This image may not be the most iconic of the series.
The "portrait" of a shell in front view on black background is the most famous image in this series. Its sharp vision is confusing the observer, but it is still respecting zoology: a single shell is featured.
One of the best reasons of Weston's prestige is the extreme care brought by him in his prints. In 1927, he worked on matte paper. Two different copies 24 x 18 cm of the nautilus made that year from the same negative were recently sold by Sotheby's : $ 1.1 million including premium on October 15, 2007, $ 1.08 million including premium on 13 April 2010.
The photo to be sold on April 5 by Sotheby's in New York is from the same year, same size and same photographic technique, but from another negative that can no longer excite the biologists.
With a beautiful surrealist influence which is not surprising at that date, Weston has nested a shell in the cavity of another one without breaking them. The axis angle between both elements creates the illusion of a strange gaze to this still life.
This masterpiece which is contemporary of Weston's negative is a rare photograph, estimated $ 600K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 530K including premium, remains far below the estimate. This image may not be the most iconic of the series.
1927 the sea shells of henrietta shore
2016 unsold
From 1923 to 1927 two photographers travel in Mexico. They do not have the same desires and their separation is inevitable. Tina Modotti is a revolutionary activist and Edward Weston looks at naked bodies.
Back in California, Edward finds a new muse. He shows his pictures to Henrietta Shore who rebuffs him : you bore us with too many nudes. In an approach that is reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe's wild flowers on the other side of the United States, Henrietta watches eroticism and mysticism in the voluptuous forms of the nature.
Edward is convinced. Henrietta let him handle her collection of sea shells. The series of 14 negatives of portraits of empty shells on a black background realized by Weston in 1927 is a masterpiece of art photography.
Edward is aware of his own achievement and realizes many positive prints in that first year. The Nautilus is his favorite picture. He is a great photographer who does not keep an imperfect print. Two prints of this famous photograph fetched a nearly identical price at Sotheby's : 1.1M including premium on 15 October 2007, 1,08M including premium on April 13, 2010.
The rarest image is that of the sixth negative of which only one positive print is still in private hands. Executed in 1927 on matte paper in format 18 x 24 cm, it is estimated $ 400K for sale by Christie's in New York on October 4, lot 15.
The photos of peppers made by Edward Weston in 1930 follow a similar artistic desire.
LATER COMMENT
A 1927 print with another provenance passed at Christie's in New York on April 2, 2019, lot 144. It means that the 2016 information that the lot for sale is (probably) the only one in private hands is not confirmed.
The number of extant original prints is now estimated as 'less than ten' instead of six in 2016. See 2016 pre-sale discussion by Paul Fraser Collectibles.
Back in California, Edward finds a new muse. He shows his pictures to Henrietta Shore who rebuffs him : you bore us with too many nudes. In an approach that is reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe's wild flowers on the other side of the United States, Henrietta watches eroticism and mysticism in the voluptuous forms of the nature.
Edward is convinced. Henrietta let him handle her collection of sea shells. The series of 14 negatives of portraits of empty shells on a black background realized by Weston in 1927 is a masterpiece of art photography.
Edward is aware of his own achievement and realizes many positive prints in that first year. The Nautilus is his favorite picture. He is a great photographer who does not keep an imperfect print. Two prints of this famous photograph fetched a nearly identical price at Sotheby's : 1.1M including premium on 15 October 2007, 1,08M including premium on April 13, 2010.
The rarest image is that of the sixth negative of which only one positive print is still in private hands. Executed in 1927 on matte paper in format 18 x 24 cm, it is estimated $ 400K for sale by Christie's in New York on October 4, lot 15.
The photos of peppers made by Edward Weston in 1930 follow a similar artistic desire.
LATER COMMENT
A 1927 print with another provenance passed at Christie's in New York on April 2, 2019, lot 144. It means that the 2016 information that the lot for sale is (probably) the only one in private hands is not confirmed.
The number of extant original prints is now estimated as 'less than ten' instead of six in 2016. See 2016 pre-sale discussion by Paul Fraser Collectibles.
1927-1929 SHADOWS AND LIGHT ON THE FACE OF LUCIA MOHOLY
2009 SOLD 240 K$ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy was a painter who became a photographer. Above all, he endeavoured to bring to photography new visual effects for which he captured his inspiration from all the avant-gardes of his time. The aesthetic theorist attracted the attention of Gropius and became an active teacher of the Bauhaus.
Sotheby's announces a photograph made around 1927-1929, a portrait of his young wife Lucia. The face is shown in close up, with a geometry of shadows and lights which suggests immediately the Suprematist paintings of Malevich. One eye is in shadow, the other is hidden by a lock of rebel hair. The mouth is also in the shade, but the rest of the face is fully in light.
Moholy-Nagy managed here a realistic photo with a trend to abstraction, or an abstract photo based on a portrait. This mixing of genres makes this work somehow a follower of the extraordinary "Octopus" from Coburn (1913), which is my favorite photo.
Our photo is in 40 x 30 cm size, without doubt a print made for exhibition. It is estimated $ 200 K, for sale in New York on March 30.
POST SALE COMMENT
240 K $ including premium. It is a good result. The photo market is still encouraging important works.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy was a painter who became a photographer. Above all, he endeavoured to bring to photography new visual effects for which he captured his inspiration from all the avant-gardes of his time. The aesthetic theorist attracted the attention of Gropius and became an active teacher of the Bauhaus.
Sotheby's announces a photograph made around 1927-1929, a portrait of his young wife Lucia. The face is shown in close up, with a geometry of shadows and lights which suggests immediately the Suprematist paintings of Malevich. One eye is in shadow, the other is hidden by a lock of rebel hair. The mouth is also in the shade, but the rest of the face is fully in light.
Moholy-Nagy managed here a realistic photo with a trend to abstraction, or an abstract photo based on a portrait. This mixing of genres makes this work somehow a follower of the extraordinary "Octopus" from Coburn (1913), which is my favorite photo.
Our photo is in 40 x 30 cm size, without doubt a print made for exhibition. It is estimated $ 200 K, for sale in New York on March 30.
POST SALE COMMENT
240 K $ including premium. It is a good result. The photo market is still encouraging important works.
1929 Light without a Lens
2013 SOLD 510 K$ including premium
The first experiments of opaque objects placed directly onto a photosensitive surface for copying their image are almost as old as photography itself. They demonstrate the link between printing and photo in the history of artistic techniques.
After the first world war, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, a young teacher at the Bauhaus, passionate about Suprematism and Constructivism, reuses that technique in his research on the expression of light, independently of similar work by Man Ray.
When the object thus printed on the sensitive paper, in one or more poses, is not recognizable, the result is an abstract photography, on black background, with beautiful flashes of light and subtle gradations of gray, with alternatively sharp and blurred sides. Helped by his wife Lucia, Laszlo realized afterwards some enlargements for the purpose of exhibitions or for preparing portfolios.
One of these abstract Photograms was designed between 1923 and 1925, probably with a folded paper somehow crumpled. An enlarged copy, 37 x 27 cm, made by Lucia in 1929 is estimated $ 200K, for sale by Christie's in New York on April 4. This image is all the more valuable as the original was lost. Here is the link to the catalog.
The Photogram of the hand, to which the shadows bring a surreal vision, was realized in 1925 on 24 x 18 cm size. This photograph was sold for $ 1.48 million including premium by Sotheby's on 12 December 2012 from an estimate of $ 300K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 510K including premium, this outstanding photo went well above its higher estimate.
After the first world war, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, a young teacher at the Bauhaus, passionate about Suprematism and Constructivism, reuses that technique in his research on the expression of light, independently of similar work by Man Ray.
When the object thus printed on the sensitive paper, in one or more poses, is not recognizable, the result is an abstract photography, on black background, with beautiful flashes of light and subtle gradations of gray, with alternatively sharp and blurred sides. Helped by his wife Lucia, Laszlo realized afterwards some enlargements for the purpose of exhibitions or for preparing portfolios.
One of these abstract Photograms was designed between 1923 and 1925, probably with a folded paper somehow crumpled. An enlarged copy, 37 x 27 cm, made by Lucia in 1929 is estimated $ 200K, for sale by Christie's in New York on April 4. This image is all the more valuable as the original was lost. Here is the link to the catalog.
The Photogram of the hand, to which the shadows bring a surreal vision, was realized in 1925 on 24 x 18 cm size. This photograph was sold for $ 1.48 million including premium by Sotheby's on 12 December 2012 from an estimate of $ 300K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 510K including premium, this outstanding photo went well above its higher estimate.
1931 MAN RAY SOLARIZING THE LILLIES
2013 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Dadaist and Surrealist and friend of Duchamp, the American Man Ray was one of the most important artists of theParisian avant-garde. He was one of those who cleared photography from its documentary purpose to make it thesupport for new artistic messages.
In his photographic lab Man Ray was keen to exploit the dual technique of negative and positive, with or without acamera. His Rayographs of the 1920s made him famous.
He then experimented with solarization, by which a flash of light during the processing creates concurrently thepositive and negative effects on the same print. The enhancement of the edges of the shapes makes the art look like adrawing, a feat that no other photographic technique can achieve.
On April 6 in New York, Sotheby's sells a solarized photograph of calla lillies, 29 x 23 cm, made in 1931. It is estimated $ 300K.
This image is a good demonstrator of the key role of this photographer in the history of art. First, these lillies call tothe mobiles of the other American in Paris, Sandy Calder.
Last and not least, this photograph belonged to Andy Warhol. Warhol admired Man Ray. Indeed, the technical experiments of Man Ray certainly encouraged Warhol to experience his silkscreen process, and the alwaysunconventional vision of Man Ray may have helped Warhol to find new themes for developing the pop art.
It is fair to consider the art of Man Ray as the link that leads from Duchamp to Warhol.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
Dadaist and Surrealist and friend of Duchamp, the American Man Ray was one of the most important artists of theParisian avant-garde. He was one of those who cleared photography from its documentary purpose to make it thesupport for new artistic messages.
In his photographic lab Man Ray was keen to exploit the dual technique of negative and positive, with or without acamera. His Rayographs of the 1920s made him famous.
He then experimented with solarization, by which a flash of light during the processing creates concurrently thepositive and negative effects on the same print. The enhancement of the edges of the shapes makes the art look like adrawing, a feat that no other photographic technique can achieve.
On April 6 in New York, Sotheby's sells a solarized photograph of calla lillies, 29 x 23 cm, made in 1931. It is estimated $ 300K.
This image is a good demonstrator of the key role of this photographer in the history of art. First, these lillies call tothe mobiles of the other American in Paris, Sandy Calder.
Last and not least, this photograph belonged to Andy Warhol. Warhol admired Man Ray. Indeed, the technical experiments of Man Ray certainly encouraged Warhol to experience his silkscreen process, and the alwaysunconventional vision of Man Ray may have helped Warhol to find new themes for developing the pop art.
It is fair to consider the art of Man Ray as the link that leads from Duchamp to Warhol.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
1934 Surrealism according to Man Ray
2008 SOLD 375 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In Paris since 1921, Man Ray went immediately to be close to the Surrealist group. Great experimenter of the photographic image, he became the best and the most interesting of surrealist photographers.
I think knowning photography quite well, but Man Ray has yet managed to deceive me! In my tracking of last weekend, I announced that Sotheby's would sell a negative: a portrait of Jacqueline Goddard, in New York on October 14.
This famous photo shows the young woman with long hair fully straight on her head, in a dynamic composition.
I waited the catalog, I did! At number 21, I read that this picture is actually a false negative, printed in black and white from an Autochrome. Of course, the sitting is also wrong, the model was taken with her head down. Man Ray uses the negative effect in the same way he used with solarization, to enhance the effects and contrasts. That is here particularly successful with regard to hair, eyes and mouth.
In 1934, Man Ray edited this picture in his first book "Man Ray: Photographs, 1920-1934, Paris" published in the United States. Five original prints are known, including two in private collections. This photograph is in 24 x 30 size.
250 K$ for this icon? In my opinion, it will be more expensive.
POST SALE COMMENT
Our photo by Man Ray was sold within its estimate range : 375 K$ including fees. The high estimate was 350 K$ hammer price.
In Paris since 1921, Man Ray went immediately to be close to the Surrealist group. Great experimenter of the photographic image, he became the best and the most interesting of surrealist photographers.
I think knowning photography quite well, but Man Ray has yet managed to deceive me! In my tracking of last weekend, I announced that Sotheby's would sell a negative: a portrait of Jacqueline Goddard, in New York on October 14.
This famous photo shows the young woman with long hair fully straight on her head, in a dynamic composition.
I waited the catalog, I did! At number 21, I read that this picture is actually a false negative, printed in black and white from an Autochrome. Of course, the sitting is also wrong, the model was taken with her head down. Man Ray uses the negative effect in the same way he used with solarization, to enhance the effects and contrasts. That is here particularly successful with regard to hair, eyes and mouth.
In 1934, Man Ray edited this picture in his first book "Man Ray: Photographs, 1920-1934, Paris" published in the United States. Five original prints are known, including two in private collections. This photograph is in 24 x 30 size.
250 K$ for this icon? In my opinion, it will be more expensive.
POST SALE COMMENT
Our photo by Man Ray was sold within its estimate range : 375 K$ including fees. The high estimate was 350 K$ hammer price.
1935 Color in her Eyes
2017 SOLD for € 750K including premium
In 1935 Man Ray prepares his painting A l'heure de l'Observatoire - Les Amoureux which is his major contribution to surrealism. The bright red lips floating above the landscape have the contours of a couple of nude stacked bodies.
The artist reserves the painting for the dream images and preferentially uses photography for the compositions based on reality. This champion of eroticism regrets the lack of colors in art photography. The autochrome and the dufaycolor are only usable in small size. Man Ray tries the best trichrome process but abandons immediately because the technical difficulty slows down the creativity.
Man Ray then tries the colored pencils over black and white prints. At the very beginning of photography, the miniaturists converted their business into photography by watercoloring edition photos, bringing an illusion of realism that appealed to customers. The experiment by Man Ray is a rare application in his time of a similar practice in large format.
On October 19 in Paris, Sotheby's sells Tearful woman, black and white silver print 23 x 18 cm realized and hand colored by Man Ray and dated 1935, lot 31 estimated € 300K.
The colors are varied and charming. The facial skin is smooth and pink. Under the carefully made up eyebrows, the eyes look upward, filled to the wet just before the tears drop. The deep red mouth is half open, showing that the gaze expresses emotion and not grief. The identity of the model is unknown.
According to Sotheby's press release, only one other print is extant. Dated 1936 and of the same format as the photo for sale by Sotheby's, it had belonged to Robert Mapplethorpe. It was sold by Christie's on May 17, 2017 for $ 2.17M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 400K.
This attempt was not really followed. The technical progress of color photography suggests for soon more direct processes. The Kodachrome for slides in cinema format is released in 1935 and the negative Kodacolor film in 1942. However, it was not until the 1970s that William Eggleston launched the color photo art.
The artist reserves the painting for the dream images and preferentially uses photography for the compositions based on reality. This champion of eroticism regrets the lack of colors in art photography. The autochrome and the dufaycolor are only usable in small size. Man Ray tries the best trichrome process but abandons immediately because the technical difficulty slows down the creativity.
Man Ray then tries the colored pencils over black and white prints. At the very beginning of photography, the miniaturists converted their business into photography by watercoloring edition photos, bringing an illusion of realism that appealed to customers. The experiment by Man Ray is a rare application in his time of a similar practice in large format.
On October 19 in Paris, Sotheby's sells Tearful woman, black and white silver print 23 x 18 cm realized and hand colored by Man Ray and dated 1935, lot 31 estimated € 300K.
The colors are varied and charming. The facial skin is smooth and pink. Under the carefully made up eyebrows, the eyes look upward, filled to the wet just before the tears drop. The deep red mouth is half open, showing that the gaze expresses emotion and not grief. The identity of the model is unknown.
According to Sotheby's press release, only one other print is extant. Dated 1936 and of the same format as the photo for sale by Sotheby's, it had belonged to Robert Mapplethorpe. It was sold by Christie's on May 17, 2017 for $ 2.17M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 400K.
This attempt was not really followed. The technical progress of color photography suggests for soon more direct processes. The Kodachrome for slides in cinema format is released in 1935 and the negative Kodacolor film in 1942. However, it was not until the 1970s that William Eggleston launched the color photo art.
1935 Going Up to Constructivism
2019 sold for $ 280k including premium
A silver print of Steps by Rodchenko was sold for $ 275K including premium by Sotheby's on September 30, 2014, lot 127, and passed at Phillips on November 6, 2015, lot 67. It is now estimated $ 150K for sale by Christie's in New York on April 2, lot 372.
I narrated this photo as follows before the previous sales.
Constructivism, in parallel to Malevich's Suprematism, is a Soviet variant of Futurism. Its target is to create new art and poetry by eliminating spontaneity and emotion for superseding the bourgeois art.
The pioneer of constructivism, Alexander Rodchenko, reached the end of his process in 1921 with his first monochrome paintings. He immediately gave up painting for photography. In a similar approach as the Bauhaus, he became interested in collages which he used to illustrate the poems by Mayakovsky.
Rodchenko was a contemporary of Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray. Leaving photomontage for photography proper around 1925, he looked for a formalism in architecture and in the scenery of modern life, with extreme angles of view that remove the reference to horizontal and vertical planes.
Taken in 1929, the steps of a staircase in Moscow bring the best photographic demonstration of Rodchenko's constructivism. The lighting is strong, offering no intermediate between light and shadow with the consequence of removing unnecessary details. In the center of the image, a woman climbs the stairs with a baby in her arms. The copy for sale is an exhibition print 38 x 57 cm dated 1935 by the artist's daughter.
Rodchenko's steps are photographed four years after the more famous staircase of Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. The similar scenery can hardly be a coincidence but the contrast of the action is total between the peaceful movement of Rodchenko's figure with child which is a symbol of life and the terrible fall of the push-chair, a symbol of child's death.
Rodchenko also seconded the documentarist director and theorist Dziga Vertov, rejecting both narrative and show.
I narrated this photo as follows before the previous sales.
Constructivism, in parallel to Malevich's Suprematism, is a Soviet variant of Futurism. Its target is to create new art and poetry by eliminating spontaneity and emotion for superseding the bourgeois art.
The pioneer of constructivism, Alexander Rodchenko, reached the end of his process in 1921 with his first monochrome paintings. He immediately gave up painting for photography. In a similar approach as the Bauhaus, he became interested in collages which he used to illustrate the poems by Mayakovsky.
Rodchenko was a contemporary of Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray. Leaving photomontage for photography proper around 1925, he looked for a formalism in architecture and in the scenery of modern life, with extreme angles of view that remove the reference to horizontal and vertical planes.
Taken in 1929, the steps of a staircase in Moscow bring the best photographic demonstration of Rodchenko's constructivism. The lighting is strong, offering no intermediate between light and shadow with the consequence of removing unnecessary details. In the center of the image, a woman climbs the stairs with a baby in her arms. The copy for sale is an exhibition print 38 x 57 cm dated 1935 by the artist's daughter.
Rodchenko's steps are photographed four years after the more famous staircase of Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. The similar scenery can hardly be a coincidence but the contrast of the action is total between the peaceful movement of Rodchenko's figure with child which is a symbol of life and the terrible fall of the push-chair, a symbol of child's death.
Rodchenko also seconded the documentarist director and theorist Dziga Vertov, rejecting both narrative and show.
1935 Photography of a Minotaur
2018 SOLD for $ 175K including premium
The Minotaure magazine marks a turning point in surrealism. Under the impulsion of Skira and Tériade the message is less political. It is indeed about offering unexpected and shocking literature and images that are conducive to dreaming and brainstorming.
The cover of the Number 1 in June 1933 is not realized by a surrealist but by Picasso. He certainly had the magazine in mind when he watched with Olga in 1934 the corrida that triggered his Minotauromachie.
Although photography is not the main topics of the magazine, Minotaure is a fertile field of experiments for surrealist photography, publishing through its thirteen issues from 1933 to 1939 the daring images by Man Ray, Brassaï and Bellmer.
Man Ray combines humor and sex. His 1929 Anatomies series silhouetting in phallus the head of Lee Miller anticipate by three years the painting Le Rêve by Picasso.
The Number 7 of June, 1935 whose cover is by Miro displays above the content list the photo of a minotaur's head by Man Ray. This is a female nude on a black background obscuring head and hands. The breasts form the eyes, the torso shapes the muzzle, the elbows create the curvature of the horns and hairs under arms are the ears.
Only one photographic print of this image is known, in 15 x 24 cm. A date at 36 was probably inscribed later because the stamp bears the address of the workshop used by Man Ray until the summer of 1935. The picture is divided by a midline hairline crease which is an invitation to print on a double page, unrealized : apart from Minotaure Number 7 no other use in period is known.
This iconic example of surrealist photography is estimated $ 150K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 10, lot 133.
The cover of the Number 1 in June 1933 is not realized by a surrealist but by Picasso. He certainly had the magazine in mind when he watched with Olga in 1934 the corrida that triggered his Minotauromachie.
Although photography is not the main topics of the magazine, Minotaure is a fertile field of experiments for surrealist photography, publishing through its thirteen issues from 1933 to 1939 the daring images by Man Ray, Brassaï and Bellmer.
Man Ray combines humor and sex. His 1929 Anatomies series silhouetting in phallus the head of Lee Miller anticipate by three years the painting Le Rêve by Picasso.
The Number 7 of June, 1935 whose cover is by Miro displays above the content list the photo of a minotaur's head by Man Ray. This is a female nude on a black background obscuring head and hands. The breasts form the eyes, the torso shapes the muzzle, the elbows create the curvature of the horns and hairs under arms are the ears.
Only one photographic print of this image is known, in 15 x 24 cm. A date at 36 was probably inscribed later because the stamp bears the address of the workshop used by Man Ray until the summer of 1935. The picture is divided by a midline hairline crease which is an invitation to print on a double page, unrealized : apart from Minotaure Number 7 no other use in period is known.
This iconic example of surrealist photography is estimated $ 150K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on April 10, lot 133.
WHAT WAS FRIDA KAHLO DOING IN 1939
2009 SOLD 13.7 K$ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
When an artist has a strong personality, he likes to be photographed in a sitting that shows his psychology or his lifestyle. When the photographer is a close friend, the result is a work of art.
We have recently discussed Gustav Klimt as he wanted to be perceived. Now comes the strength and energy of Frida Kahlo.
In 1939, aged 32 years, she has since ever been affected by the health problems that marred her short life but made her a legend in the art community of Mexico City. It is not visible on the photo, on which an informed observer only notes that the legs are not visible.
She looks very straight, in a beautiful Mexican dress. The thick featured face expresses self assurance, just like her painted self-portraits. The photographer Nickolas Muray placed her before a flower wallpaper that skillfully repeats the pattern of the dress and the hair ornament. This is in colors, an interesting characteristics to note in this time when top photographers preferred practicing in black and white.
A later carbon pigment print, 38 x 26 cm, is estimated at 10 K$ by Phillips de Pury in New York on October 3.
POST SALE COMMENT
Here is the image shared by Auction Central News of this key artist of modern art.
The photo was sold 13.7 K$ premium included.
When an artist has a strong personality, he likes to be photographed in a sitting that shows his psychology or his lifestyle. When the photographer is a close friend, the result is a work of art.
We have recently discussed Gustav Klimt as he wanted to be perceived. Now comes the strength and energy of Frida Kahlo.
In 1939, aged 32 years, she has since ever been affected by the health problems that marred her short life but made her a legend in the art community of Mexico City. It is not visible on the photo, on which an informed observer only notes that the legs are not visible.
She looks very straight, in a beautiful Mexican dress. The thick featured face expresses self assurance, just like her painted self-portraits. The photographer Nickolas Muray placed her before a flower wallpaper that skillfully repeats the pattern of the dress and the hair ornament. This is in colors, an interesting characteristics to note in this time when top photographers preferred practicing in black and white.
A later carbon pigment print, 38 x 26 cm, is estimated at 10 K$ by Phillips de Pury in New York on October 3.
POST SALE COMMENT
Here is the image shared by Auction Central News of this key artist of modern art.
The photo was sold 13.7 K$ premium included.
1941 The Light of Halloween
2020 SOLD for $ 690K including premium
Co-founder in 1932 beside Edward Weston of Group F:64, Ansel Adams specializes in the photography of US landscapes. The combined use of large formats and very small openings brings an unprecedented sharpness to his negatives. The preparation of the prints is a meticulous process to provide the effect of light desired by the artist.
The possibility of applying these techniques for a decorative wall of photographs is of interest to the National Park Service, which is a federal agency. In 1941, for six months, Ansel Adams travels the United States with his son and a collaborator.
One autumn evening, after a gloomy day, Adams returns to Santa Fe. The light of the setting sun illuminates the crosses of a cemetery, leaving the rest of the landscape in shadow. The full moon is visible above the village.
Appealed by the beauty of this scenery, Adams narrowly misses to send the car into the ditch. He takes out his 8 x 10 inch camera, does not find his light meter and estimates the exposure time as well as possible. He takes his picture. The light changes in the seconds that follow and this negative will remain unique. It remains to identify the place and date. The village is Hernandez, New Mexico. Astronomers will determine from the position of the Moon that the photo was taken on Halloween evening at 4:05 PM.
The result does not meet the perfection demanded by Adams. The shadows are dark and the work of this image in the darkroom is long and tedious. The very rare positives of this first period reflect the realistic vision of this twilight, with a romantic contrast on the crosses and details in the sky. A 24 x 30 cm print, probably made at the end of November 1941, is estimated $ 700K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on December 14, lot 29.
A 35 x 50 cm print rebalancing the densities, made circa 1946, was sold for $ 360K including premium by Sotheby's on October 14, 2008. In the meantime the image has been published and demand is high. In 1948, Adams reworks the negative to facilitate future prints. This new state gives the fantastic illusion of moonlight. A 35 x 50 cm print was sold for $ 610K including premium by Sotheby's on October 17, 2006.
The possibility of applying these techniques for a decorative wall of photographs is of interest to the National Park Service, which is a federal agency. In 1941, for six months, Ansel Adams travels the United States with his son and a collaborator.
One autumn evening, after a gloomy day, Adams returns to Santa Fe. The light of the setting sun illuminates the crosses of a cemetery, leaving the rest of the landscape in shadow. The full moon is visible above the village.
Appealed by the beauty of this scenery, Adams narrowly misses to send the car into the ditch. He takes out his 8 x 10 inch camera, does not find his light meter and estimates the exposure time as well as possible. He takes his picture. The light changes in the seconds that follow and this negative will remain unique. It remains to identify the place and date. The village is Hernandez, New Mexico. Astronomers will determine from the position of the Moon that the photo was taken on Halloween evening at 4:05 PM.
The result does not meet the perfection demanded by Adams. The shadows are dark and the work of this image in the darkroom is long and tedious. The very rare positives of this first period reflect the realistic vision of this twilight, with a romantic contrast on the crosses and details in the sky. A 24 x 30 cm print, probably made at the end of November 1941, is estimated $ 700K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on December 14, lot 29.
A 35 x 50 cm print rebalancing the densities, made circa 1946, was sold for $ 360K including premium by Sotheby's on October 14, 2008. In the meantime the image has been published and demand is high. In 1948, Adams reworks the negative to facilitate future prints. This new state gives the fantastic illusion of moonlight. A 35 x 50 cm print was sold for $ 610K including premium by Sotheby's on October 17, 2006.
1948 Moon rises for Ansel Adams
2009 SOLD 360 K$ including premium
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, is an icon in the history of photography. From a negative 8 x 10 inches taken in 1941, Ansel Adams manages to recreate the ambience of moonlight. We see a few houses and the village cemetery before a country. The sky is crossed by bright clouds under an almost full moon.
The copy that Swann auctions in New York on December 8, 34 x 44 cm, is dated 1948 and estimated $ 350K. Another example of similar size and date has been sold by Sotheby's $ 610K including premium, also in New York, on October 17, 2006.
Previous prints are less interesting. Adams was reluctant to sell this picture as far as his positives had not reached the delicate tones he wanted. Thus, a copy of the same dimension provided by the artist to a friend around 1946 did not exceed $ 360K including premium, also at Sotheby's New York, on October 14, 2008.
On April 11, 2008, Christie's had sold a very fine collection of photographs of Ansel Adams. This view was not therein, but I wrote at that time in my article (then in French only):
Among photographers of the last century, nobody passed on Ansel Adams for his technique of shooting and his photographic quality.
A fan of very small apertures for providing sharpness, he enjoyed the steady progress of photography in his day. His predecessors should have used excessive exposure time to obtain similar results. He was also an adept of large sizes prints in striking contrasts, all in black and white, obviously. He also astonished his contemporaries by his photo taken at Moonlight, which is highly sought.
POST SALE COMMENT
10 minutes ago, Swann announced via Twitter that this photo has been sold at the highest bid of 300 K$.
This image was shared before sale on the blog of the auction house.
The copy that Swann auctions in New York on December 8, 34 x 44 cm, is dated 1948 and estimated $ 350K. Another example of similar size and date has been sold by Sotheby's $ 610K including premium, also in New York, on October 17, 2006.
Previous prints are less interesting. Adams was reluctant to sell this picture as far as his positives had not reached the delicate tones he wanted. Thus, a copy of the same dimension provided by the artist to a friend around 1946 did not exceed $ 360K including premium, also at Sotheby's New York, on October 14, 2008.
On April 11, 2008, Christie's had sold a very fine collection of photographs of Ansel Adams. This view was not therein, but I wrote at that time in my article (then in French only):
Among photographers of the last century, nobody passed on Ansel Adams for his technique of shooting and his photographic quality.
A fan of very small apertures for providing sharpness, he enjoyed the steady progress of photography in his day. His predecessors should have used excessive exposure time to obtain similar results. He was also an adept of large sizes prints in striking contrasts, all in black and white, obviously. He also astonished his contemporaries by his photo taken at Moonlight, which is highly sought.
POST SALE COMMENT
10 minutes ago, Swann announced via Twitter that this photo has been sold at the highest bid of 300 K$.
This image was shared before sale on the blog of the auction house.
1952 Moonrise over the space age
2016 sold for $ 220k including premium
The working day had been disappointing and Ansel Adams was driving his car back home with his son and an assistant. He was suddenly amazed by the mingling of moonlight with the last rays of the sun over a small village and on the snow-capped mountains.
It was necessary to act quickly. The artist does not have time to make his hand on his exposure meter and calculates in his head the suitable exposure time. He chooses his framing, installs his 8 x 10 inches camera on the roof of the car and shoots the negative. Moonrise Hernandez will be the most iconic landscape photograph of all time. His rush was the key of the success : the harmony between sun and moon disappeared before he could make a second photo.
He did not take notes and probably forgot his picture in a first time. Astronomers will define later from the position of the moon that the shooting happened on October 31, 1941 at 4:05 in the afternoon.
In 1946, Adams executes prints in the rich gray tones that are his specialty, restoring the atmosphere of this cool twilight on the countryside of New Mexico. In December 1948 he reworks his negative to enhance the details of the village and especially the fantastic light that seems to emanate from the crosses of the cemetery.
The meeting of Adams and Land is one of the most fruitful collaborations in the history of photography. A 67 x 94 cm print of Moonrise Hernandez made for Land in the very early 1950s accentuated the drama through a very dark night sky interrupted only by the shining moon.
In 1952, Land presents this photo to the young physicist Edward Mills Purcell who has just been honored with the Nobel Prize. Both Land and Purcell are members of the advisory committee created at the request of President Eisenhower to counter the very early space ambitions of the Soviets. This photo expresses the encounter of life and death with an outer space dominated by the Moon.
This print is estimated over $ 200K for sale by Swann Galleries in New York on February 25, lot 99. I invite you to watch the very interesting video shared by the auction house.
It was necessary to act quickly. The artist does not have time to make his hand on his exposure meter and calculates in his head the suitable exposure time. He chooses his framing, installs his 8 x 10 inches camera on the roof of the car and shoots the negative. Moonrise Hernandez will be the most iconic landscape photograph of all time. His rush was the key of the success : the harmony between sun and moon disappeared before he could make a second photo.
He did not take notes and probably forgot his picture in a first time. Astronomers will define later from the position of the moon that the shooting happened on October 31, 1941 at 4:05 in the afternoon.
In 1946, Adams executes prints in the rich gray tones that are his specialty, restoring the atmosphere of this cool twilight on the countryside of New Mexico. In December 1948 he reworks his negative to enhance the details of the village and especially the fantastic light that seems to emanate from the crosses of the cemetery.
The meeting of Adams and Land is one of the most fruitful collaborations in the history of photography. A 67 x 94 cm print of Moonrise Hernandez made for Land in the very early 1950s accentuated the drama through a very dark night sky interrupted only by the shining moon.
In 1952, Land presents this photo to the young physicist Edward Mills Purcell who has just been honored with the Nobel Prize. Both Land and Purcell are members of the advisory committee created at the request of President Eisenhower to counter the very early space ambitions of the Soviets. This photo expresses the encounter of life and death with an outer space dominated by the Moon.
This print is estimated over $ 200K for sale by Swann Galleries in New York on February 25, lot 99. I invite you to watch the very interesting video shared by the auction house.
Complicity between Land and Adams
2010 SOLD 720 K$ including premium
The sale of the Polaroid collection by Sotheby's on 21 and 22 June in New York highlights the remarkable cooperation between Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid, and Ansel Adams. Fertile mind, brilliant inventor, Land wanted his company and its employees to absorb what is best in photographic art, and he appealed to Adams.
In the 1950s or 1960s, the walls of the corporate offices are covered with large prints of landscapes by Adams. Of course, in such a set, we can not simply cite a single piece. The most famous images have attracted the highest estimates. Here are the top four, to be sold on the first day:
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico: Lot 94, 100 x 142 cm, estimated $ 300K.
Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California: Lot 97, 98 x 150 cm, estimated $ 300K.
Clearing winter storm, Yosemite National Park: Lot 100, 98 x 132 cm, estimated $ 300K.
The Tetons and Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming: Lot 91, 99 x 129 cm, estimated $ 250K.
The participation of Adams to the Polaroid collection included many other aspects. He himself was one of the most prolific users of the instant cameras of the brand. He enriched the collection with excellent pieces by other great names. Land and himself encouraged young talent.
The results will confirm the estimates, at least on one point: they will confirm Ansel Adams as the best photographer of his time.
POST SALE COMMENT
The wonderful photo of the Yosemite got the best result: 720 K $. The others follow in a logical order, with the iconic moonlight at 520 K $, the Sierra Nevada at 480 K $ and the superb panorama of the Tetons at 350 K $. These prices include fees.
In the 1950s or 1960s, the walls of the corporate offices are covered with large prints of landscapes by Adams. Of course, in such a set, we can not simply cite a single piece. The most famous images have attracted the highest estimates. Here are the top four, to be sold on the first day:
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico: Lot 94, 100 x 142 cm, estimated $ 300K.
Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California: Lot 97, 98 x 150 cm, estimated $ 300K.
Clearing winter storm, Yosemite National Park: Lot 100, 98 x 132 cm, estimated $ 300K.
The Tetons and Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming: Lot 91, 99 x 129 cm, estimated $ 250K.
The participation of Adams to the Polaroid collection included many other aspects. He himself was one of the most prolific users of the instant cameras of the brand. He enriched the collection with excellent pieces by other great names. Land and himself encouraged young talent.
The results will confirm the estimates, at least on one point: they will confirm Ansel Adams as the best photographer of his time.
POST SALE COMMENT
The wonderful photo of the Yosemite got the best result: 720 K $. The others follow in a logical order, with the iconic moonlight at 520 K $, the Sierra Nevada at 480 K $ and the superb panorama of the Tetons at 350 K $. These prices include fees.
1957 THE FAMILY OF WOMAN
2012 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Many great photographers did have a strong social feeling. They wanted to give their vision, realistic and poignant, of the actual life of humble people, as far as possible of the rich and stars.
The Second World War devastated many families and reinforced this trend, perfectly represented by the memorableexhibition curated by Steichen in 1955 as The Family of Man.
Threatened by McCarthyism, Paul Strand had already fled the United States. In 1953 he did a major photographicreport devoted to the hometown of his friend Cesare Zavattini, the director, in the Po Valley.
His masterpiece shows a family in the door of a poor house. The old woman is a widow. Her husband had been beaten by Fascists. She is surrounded by five of her sons, earning their life as sharecroppers. The difficulties of life are evident in this powerful image which is a tribute to human dignity.
This image is an icon of 20th century photography in the same way and for the same reason as the Migrant Mother photographed by Dorothea Lange in 1936.
The 20 x 25 cm print for sale by Sotheby's in New York on October 3 is outstanding because it is very early: it was signed and dedicated by the artist in 1957. It is estimated $ 250K. Here is the link to the catalog.
Many great photographers did have a strong social feeling. They wanted to give their vision, realistic and poignant, of the actual life of humble people, as far as possible of the rich and stars.
The Second World War devastated many families and reinforced this trend, perfectly represented by the memorableexhibition curated by Steichen in 1955 as The Family of Man.
Threatened by McCarthyism, Paul Strand had already fled the United States. In 1953 he did a major photographicreport devoted to the hometown of his friend Cesare Zavattini, the director, in the Po Valley.
His masterpiece shows a family in the door of a poor house. The old woman is a widow. Her husband had been beaten by Fascists. She is surrounded by five of her sons, earning their life as sharecroppers. The difficulties of life are evident in this powerful image which is a tribute to human dignity.
This image is an icon of 20th century photography in the same way and for the same reason as the Migrant Mother photographed by Dorothea Lange in 1936.
The 20 x 25 cm print for sale by Sotheby's in New York on October 3 is outstanding because it is very early: it was signed and dedicated by the artist in 1957. It is estimated $ 250K. Here is the link to the catalog.
from 1958 edward weston and son
2014 unsold
Edward Weston had two major assets to become the most outstanding photographer of his time.
He was skilled to compose his images up to abstraction and minimalism while maintaining the greatest possible depth of field and sharpness. His mastery of photographic chemicals and of darkroom work was complete. He favored quality over quantity and destroyed the prints when he saw the slightest defect.
The top example at auction is the Nude from the Quillan collection, sold for $ 1.6 million including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008. This photo is small, 13 x 24 cm, but it is perfect and uses the best matte silver paper contemporary to the negative made in 1925.
Edward Weston kept each of his negatives in a glassine sleeve where he recorded his prescriptions for the print based on the specific features of the negative. His four sons worked with him at some time. He chose the youngest, Cole, to be the only one allowed to produce positive prints after his death.
For 30 years, 1958 to 1988, and occasionally until 2003, Cole Weston scrupulously complied with the requirements of his father and protected his own exclusivity. No one after him will be authorized to work from the legendary negatives of Edward Weston.
548 prints made by Cole Weston will be sold as a single lot at Sotheby's in New York on September 30, lot 108 estimated $ 2 million. Each is inscribed on its reverse with the number, title and date of Edward Weston's negative, from 1918 to 1949. No less than 140 of these images are unpublished.
He was skilled to compose his images up to abstraction and minimalism while maintaining the greatest possible depth of field and sharpness. His mastery of photographic chemicals and of darkroom work was complete. He favored quality over quantity and destroyed the prints when he saw the slightest defect.
The top example at auction is the Nude from the Quillan collection, sold for $ 1.6 million including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2008. This photo is small, 13 x 24 cm, but it is perfect and uses the best matte silver paper contemporary to the negative made in 1925.
Edward Weston kept each of his negatives in a glassine sleeve where he recorded his prescriptions for the print based on the specific features of the negative. His four sons worked with him at some time. He chose the youngest, Cole, to be the only one allowed to produce positive prints after his death.
For 30 years, 1958 to 1988, and occasionally until 2003, Cole Weston scrupulously complied with the requirements of his father and protected his own exclusivity. No one after him will be authorized to work from the legendary negatives of Edward Weston.
548 prints made by Cole Weston will be sold as a single lot at Sotheby's in New York on September 30, lot 108 estimated $ 2 million. Each is inscribed on its reverse with the number, title and date of Edward Weston's negative, from 1918 to 1949. No less than 140 of these images are unpublished.
1959 bardot by alexandre
2016 sold for $ 250k including premium
Brigitte Bardot, Alexandre "de Paris" and Richard Avedon are artists in their own specialty. Their vision is similar : reveal the personality behind the role.
In 1959, Brigitte Bardot is in the prime of her 25 years. For three years she is the ideal woman and the sex bomb of the movie screens, offered by Vadim as a divine creation.
Alexandre is the most famous hairdresser. He works along with fashion designers to give of the woman the image of an utmost elegance. At that time when the images are spread all over the world by magazines and television, his achievements are spectacular. Queens and celebrities are demanding to have their hair done by the master.
Richard Avedon is the director of photography for Harper's Bazaar. Bringing an unprecedented attention to the personality of the models, he has already transformed forever the fashion photography. The movie stars are the best triggers of fashion changes and are in their turn photographed by him.
Avedon is preparing his first book, Observations, which is a collection of portraits of celebrities. He is a perfectionist of the silver print. He appreciates his portrait of Bardot haired by Alexandre as one of his best pictures.
Women's fashion is for the thick hair. Accentuating the waves without obscuring the face, Alexandre highlights the natural beauty of the actress. Avedon embellishes the work of Alexandre with light and shadow. Brigitte is waiting, straight head and direct gaze.
This portrait is published in the magazine and in the book, and later edited in 35 copies 59 x 51 cm. One of them is estimated $ 220K for sale by Phillips in New York on October 5, lot 20.
In 1959, Brigitte Bardot is in the prime of her 25 years. For three years she is the ideal woman and the sex bomb of the movie screens, offered by Vadim as a divine creation.
Alexandre is the most famous hairdresser. He works along with fashion designers to give of the woman the image of an utmost elegance. At that time when the images are spread all over the world by magazines and television, his achievements are spectacular. Queens and celebrities are demanding to have their hair done by the master.
Richard Avedon is the director of photography for Harper's Bazaar. Bringing an unprecedented attention to the personality of the models, he has already transformed forever the fashion photography. The movie stars are the best triggers of fashion changes and are in their turn photographed by him.
Avedon is preparing his first book, Observations, which is a collection of portraits of celebrities. He is a perfectionist of the silver print. He appreciates his portrait of Bardot haired by Alexandre as one of his best pictures.
Women's fashion is for the thick hair. Accentuating the waves without obscuring the face, Alexandre highlights the natural beauty of the actress. Avedon embellishes the work of Alexandre with light and shadow. Brigitte is waiting, straight head and direct gaze.
This portrait is published in the magazine and in the book, and later edited in 35 copies 59 x 51 cm. One of them is estimated $ 220K for sale by Phillips in New York on October 5, lot 20.
1960 Vertigo in New York
2009 SOLD 56 K$ including premium
In 1932, the Empire State Building in New York City, completed the previous year, is the architectural marvel of the time. The magazine Vanity Fair orders an illustration to Edward Steichen.
This great master of the avant-garde art makes a photo designed on a mixing of two main negatives shot from ground to sky. The perspectives are contradictory, and the loss of vertical references provides some dizziness. The desired effect is achieved: this photo shows the power of the tallest building in the world.
Steichen's title is The Maypole - Empire State Building. The idea of the artist is to evoke the swirling motion of children who dance around the May pole, a beloved reference for Americans.
Two copies are for sale a few days apart. The largest, 42 x 34 cm, estimated 50 K$, is included in the specialized New York theme auction at Phillips de Pury, in that city, on December 12. It is a print made in 1960 that once belonged to the family of the artist.
The smallest, 22 x 17 cm, is another later print. It is estimated 10 K€ by Villa Grisebach in Berlin in their sale of November 26.
The same building was starring in King Kong movie the following year (1933). See our very recent article in Memorabilia group.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Grisebach has sold its copy exactly at the low estimate, which is 11.9 K € including premium.
2
No surprise at Phillips de Pury: $ 45K hammer price, $ 56K including premium.
See the catalog and the image shared by LiveAuctioneers, online hosting provider for this sale.
This great master of the avant-garde art makes a photo designed on a mixing of two main negatives shot from ground to sky. The perspectives are contradictory, and the loss of vertical references provides some dizziness. The desired effect is achieved: this photo shows the power of the tallest building in the world.
Steichen's title is The Maypole - Empire State Building. The idea of the artist is to evoke the swirling motion of children who dance around the May pole, a beloved reference for Americans.
Two copies are for sale a few days apart. The largest, 42 x 34 cm, estimated 50 K$, is included in the specialized New York theme auction at Phillips de Pury, in that city, on December 12. It is a print made in 1960 that once belonged to the family of the artist.
The smallest, 22 x 17 cm, is another later print. It is estimated 10 K€ by Villa Grisebach in Berlin in their sale of November 26.
The same building was starring in King Kong movie the following year (1933). See our very recent article in Memorabilia group.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Grisebach has sold its copy exactly at the low estimate, which is 11.9 K € including premium.
2
No surprise at Phillips de Pury: $ 45K hammer price, $ 56K including premium.
See the catalog and the image shared by LiveAuctioneers, online hosting provider for this sale.
1962 New Look with Elephants
2018 unsold
The public has always been passionate about fashion. The evolution of techniques facilitates the dissemination of information by the specialized magazines. Harper's Bazaar and Vogue were the leaders in this market sector in the 1930s when it became necessary to replace drawings with photographs.
After the war the phenomenon is accentuated. A couture designer will have no success if he does not seduce the editors of the magazines. In 1947 Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, assures the glory of Christian Dior by expressing her enthusiasm with exuberance. It was she and no one else who triggered the instant success of this fashion that she named the New Look.
Carmel Snow comes twice a year in Paris to visit the couturiers before the launch of the collections. In 1955 Richard Avedonfeels that he has a role to play. He obtains the mission of the photographic coverage of Carmel Snow's report for the fall-winter collection.
This new trend just created a new job, the supermodel, as Lisa Fonssagrives who will marry Irving Penn. The girls are beautiful but static and the photographers pay full attention to the garment.
Richard Avedon offers a more dynamic vision. To show Dior's evening dresses, he designs a staging with Dovima, one of the most popular supermodels of the period. At that moment Carol Reed is shooting a movie at the Cirque d'Hiver under the large glass canopy that allows the same brightness as outside. Avedon places Dovima in the middle of a row of elephants.
The September 1955 edition of Harper's Bazaar includes fifteen photos from Avedon's Parisian report. Dovima with her elephants appears once in a white dress and once in a black dress, both by Dior.
The black dress, more precisely a white satin drape in a black velvet girdle, is a conception by Yves Saint-Laurent in his very first participation for Dior. Dovima's theatrical attitude stretching an arm towards each beast created a masterpiece of fashion photography.
In 1962 Avedon prepares two 124 x 100 cm prints for an exhibition at the Smithsonian, all the more rare in such size that the original use had been exclusively for the magazine. One of them mounted on masonite is estimated € 600K for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on November 9, lot 57.
Editions and large prints were made later after retouching the negative. A 217 x 167 cm print prepared in 1978 for a retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was sold for € 840K including premium by Christie's on November 20, 2010.
After the war the phenomenon is accentuated. A couture designer will have no success if he does not seduce the editors of the magazines. In 1947 Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, assures the glory of Christian Dior by expressing her enthusiasm with exuberance. It was she and no one else who triggered the instant success of this fashion that she named the New Look.
Carmel Snow comes twice a year in Paris to visit the couturiers before the launch of the collections. In 1955 Richard Avedonfeels that he has a role to play. He obtains the mission of the photographic coverage of Carmel Snow's report for the fall-winter collection.
This new trend just created a new job, the supermodel, as Lisa Fonssagrives who will marry Irving Penn. The girls are beautiful but static and the photographers pay full attention to the garment.
Richard Avedon offers a more dynamic vision. To show Dior's evening dresses, he designs a staging with Dovima, one of the most popular supermodels of the period. At that moment Carol Reed is shooting a movie at the Cirque d'Hiver under the large glass canopy that allows the same brightness as outside. Avedon places Dovima in the middle of a row of elephants.
The September 1955 edition of Harper's Bazaar includes fifteen photos from Avedon's Parisian report. Dovima with her elephants appears once in a white dress and once in a black dress, both by Dior.
The black dress, more precisely a white satin drape in a black velvet girdle, is a conception by Yves Saint-Laurent in his very first participation for Dior. Dovima's theatrical attitude stretching an arm towards each beast created a masterpiece of fashion photography.
In 1962 Avedon prepares two 124 x 100 cm prints for an exhibition at the Smithsonian, all the more rare in such size that the original use had been exclusively for the magazine. One of them mounted on masonite is estimated € 600K for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on November 9, lot 57.
Editions and large prints were made later after retouching the negative. A 217 x 167 cm print prepared in 1978 for a retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was sold for € 840K including premium by Christie's on November 20, 2010.
1962 Exasperated Boy by Diane Arbus
2015 SOLD for $ 790K including premium by Christie's
Inspired and encouraged by Lisette Model, Diane Arbus endeavors to reveal the incongruous or the monstrosity within the human condition. The 24 x 36 mm format does not suit her purpose anymore because the eye is too close to the eyecup, hindering the choice of the right moment in a snapshot. In 1962 she opts for the 6 x 6 cm format in a bi-lens Rolleiflex with a reflex viewer.
The photo of the boy in Central Park is one of her early 6 x 6 cm views. A contact sheet from this roll of 12 views has been inspected and testifies to the terrible method of the artist for obtaining situations out of the norms.
In the first views the boy poses complacently as if waiting for some congratulation. Towards the middle of the sequence a toy grenade appears in his hand (it will not be revealed if it was provided by Diane or by a non visible third party).
Diane annoys the boy up to exasperation. The gaze becomes furious and the mouth unpleasant. Forgetting the military symbol of the toy he threatens to throw it towards the photographer. She is a great artist : only the image of the final result will be used, the previous ones do not matter. Seen outside the context of its staging such an aggression promised by a child resembling all the other children is disturbing. It is a masterpiece of social photography.
A vintage silver print 30 x 30 cm signed and dated by Diane with the autograph title Exasperated boy with toy hand grenade was sold for $ 790K including premium by Christie's in their prestige curated auction Looking forward to the past on May 11, 2015, lot 26 A.
On April 6, 2017 in New York, Christie's sold for $ 510K including premium a silver print realized, titled and signed by Diane in 1963 in a similar format mounted on a 50 x 40 cm sheet, lot 12 estimated $ 400K.
The photo of the boy in Central Park is one of her early 6 x 6 cm views. A contact sheet from this roll of 12 views has been inspected and testifies to the terrible method of the artist for obtaining situations out of the norms.
In the first views the boy poses complacently as if waiting for some congratulation. Towards the middle of the sequence a toy grenade appears in his hand (it will not be revealed if it was provided by Diane or by a non visible third party).
Diane annoys the boy up to exasperation. The gaze becomes furious and the mouth unpleasant. Forgetting the military symbol of the toy he threatens to throw it towards the photographer. She is a great artist : only the image of the final result will be used, the previous ones do not matter. Seen outside the context of its staging such an aggression promised by a child resembling all the other children is disturbing. It is a masterpiece of social photography.
A vintage silver print 30 x 30 cm signed and dated by Diane with the autograph title Exasperated boy with toy hand grenade was sold for $ 790K including premium by Christie's in their prestige curated auction Looking forward to the past on May 11, 2015, lot 26 A.
On April 6, 2017 in New York, Christie's sold for $ 510K including premium a silver print realized, titled and signed by Diane in 1963 in a similar format mounted on a 50 x 40 cm sheet, lot 12 estimated $ 400K.
1965 the demise of the african elephant
2014 unsold
In 1955 a 17 year old American teenager named Peter Hill Beard is amazed by the wilderness of Kenya. He met Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, who certainly raised his awareness about the inevitable demise of his paradise.
Nine years later, Beard had become a photographer and an activist. During those few years, the demographic growth had already ruined the habitat of the 35,000 elephants in Kenya. He comes to meet survivors in the Tsavo Park reserve. Other big animals also interested him but the elephant has remained up to now his preferred theme and the symbol of his art.
In 1965, Beard creates images in large sizes, on which he adds a tight manuscript text and sticks smaller photos and also animal materials including almost always some blood.
On the same year he published a book combining photos with a history of the degradation of nature in Africa. The nostalgic title, The End of the Game, refers to both meanings of Game, for play and hunting.
On September 29 in New York, Christie's sells the frontal photo of an elephant named Tsavo Tusker by the artist, lot 187 estimated $ 200K.
Made in 1965, this image 249 x 163 cm is a chromogenic print on which the artist pasted eight small silver photos that hinder the strength of the animal. Some of these secondary images evoke death in the same way as the skeleton fetus of Munch's Madonna.
The large size of the image and its stains directly imitate the art of the advertising poster and Peter Beard may be considered as a pioneer of Pop art. Yet the originality of his vision is fully his own. He actually met Warhol but much later.
Nine years later, Beard had become a photographer and an activist. During those few years, the demographic growth had already ruined the habitat of the 35,000 elephants in Kenya. He comes to meet survivors in the Tsavo Park reserve. Other big animals also interested him but the elephant has remained up to now his preferred theme and the symbol of his art.
In 1965, Beard creates images in large sizes, on which he adds a tight manuscript text and sticks smaller photos and also animal materials including almost always some blood.
On the same year he published a book combining photos with a history of the degradation of nature in Africa. The nostalgic title, The End of the Game, refers to both meanings of Game, for play and hunting.
On September 29 in New York, Christie's sells the frontal photo of an elephant named Tsavo Tusker by the artist, lot 187 estimated $ 200K.
Made in 1965, this image 249 x 163 cm is a chromogenic print on which the artist pasted eight small silver photos that hinder the strength of the animal. Some of these secondary images evoke death in the same way as the skeleton fetus of Munch's Madonna.
The large size of the image and its stains directly imitate the art of the advertising poster and Peter Beard may be considered as a pioneer of Pop art. Yet the originality of his vision is fully his own. He actually met Warhol but much later.
1966-1969 Identical Twins by Diane Arbus
2018 SOLD for $ 730K including premium by Christie's
The career of Diane Arbus began conventionally but she was early bored with fashion photography. During this post-war period when photography endeavored to convey a social message, she looked into unexplored paths by making empathetic portraits of human monsters and deviants.
In front of the camera, the mentally retarded do not play long. He gets tired and displays his true psychology. Diane triggers in that short moment. She did the same with children.
The portrait of identical sisters in their Sunday attire was realized in 1967 at a local feast in Roselle NJ that promoted the theme of twins and multiple births. Diane isolated the two girls to photograph them in front of a white wall devoid of any context.
The classic comment that the expressions differentiate the individual personalities of Cathleen and Colleen does not explain the emotional strength of this famous picture. The photo was taken at the very moment when the child on the left loses her conventional smile and begins to sulk in a tiny anticipation over the behavior of her sister.
A silver print 38 x 38 cm of Identical twins was sold for $ 730K$ including premium by Christie's on October 5, 2018, lot 242. Another one was sold for $ 600K including premium by Phillips on 2 April 2, 2013, lot 28. Another one passed at Phillips on May 21, 2015.
In front of the camera, the mentally retarded do not play long. He gets tired and displays his true psychology. Diane triggers in that short moment. She did the same with children.
The portrait of identical sisters in their Sunday attire was realized in 1967 at a local feast in Roselle NJ that promoted the theme of twins and multiple births. Diane isolated the two girls to photograph them in front of a white wall devoid of any context.
The classic comment that the expressions differentiate the individual personalities of Cathleen and Colleen does not explain the emotional strength of this famous picture. The photo was taken at the very moment when the child on the left loses her conventional smile and begins to sulk in a tiny anticipation over the behavior of her sister.
A silver print 38 x 38 cm of Identical twins was sold for $ 730K$ including premium by Christie's on October 5, 2018, lot 242. Another one was sold for $ 600K including premium by Phillips on 2 April 2, 2013, lot 28. Another one passed at Phillips on May 21, 2015.
1967 winners and losers
2015 unsold
From 1962, the themes chosen by Diane Arbus cannot leave us indifferent. Having perfected her photographic practice, she explores New York with the curiosity of an anthropologist looking for behaviors that are absurd in their very normality. The boy with a toy grenade in Central Park is a seminal photo of this terrible project.
She is interested in the theme of the winners of one day, eager to receive the limelight in events that ultimately help in no way to improve their mediocre life. She attends contests of all kinds: beauty, motherhood, spaghetti eating, freckles.
In 1963, the champion couple in the National Junior Interstate Dance tries a step in the ballroom for that photographer who will use their pride to show to the Americans the vanity of social rituals. They have not reached the adult height but are already integrated into an artificial society.
A 40 x 40 cm print made in 1963 was sold for $ 380K including premium by Sotheby's on December 11, 2014.
A first consecration comes in 1967 with the exhibition of her work entitled New Documents at the Museum of Modern Art. In gratitude for a service on that occasion, Diane inscribes a print of the Dance champions to a seller in a boutique of Madison Avenue that promotes the psychedelic fashion. This photo 25 x 24 cm is estimated $ 250K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on October 7, lot 165.
From 1966 Diane, increasingly critical of the behaviors labelled as normal, visits the human monsters and the mentally retarded to witness the consequences of their infirmity on their personality and lifestyle.
She is interested in the theme of the winners of one day, eager to receive the limelight in events that ultimately help in no way to improve their mediocre life. She attends contests of all kinds: beauty, motherhood, spaghetti eating, freckles.
In 1963, the champion couple in the National Junior Interstate Dance tries a step in the ballroom for that photographer who will use their pride to show to the Americans the vanity of social rituals. They have not reached the adult height but are already integrated into an artificial society.
A 40 x 40 cm print made in 1963 was sold for $ 380K including premium by Sotheby's on December 11, 2014.
A first consecration comes in 1967 with the exhibition of her work entitled New Documents at the Museum of Modern Art. In gratitude for a service on that occasion, Diane inscribes a print of the Dance champions to a seller in a boutique of Madison Avenue that promotes the psychedelic fashion. This photo 25 x 24 cm is estimated $ 250K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on October 7, lot 165.
From 1966 Diane, increasingly critical of the behaviors labelled as normal, visits the human monsters and the mentally retarded to witness the consequences of their infirmity on their personality and lifestyle.
1967 THE DISARRAY OF DIANE ARBUS
2010 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The art of Diane Arbus is a continuous view on his contemporaries in North America. Entirely in black and white, it comes in the following of the photographs of Dorothea Lange.
However, where Lange used photography to show the psychological and social distress of people affected by the crisis, Diane Arbus somehow treated the opposite.
Arbus's characters are integrated into the world without actually being normal: a giant, for example. Or their behavior is marginal to society's decorous rules: nudists. Or, simply, they care as everyone in activities that one might ask the deeper meaning: a nap next to a camping table, the boy who plays at Central Park with a hand grenade toy.
Arbus is not Barnum. The victim is herself, who can no longer understand the world around her.
The picture of identical twins in New Jersey, made in 1967, is one of her most famous images. The mystery of the psychological and social life of homozygote twins can only be understood by them.
Christie's sells on October 6 in New York a copy of this photograph, 37 x 32 cm, estimated $ 250K, that leaves no doubt about the disarray of the artist: she herself gave it to her psychiatrist. Diane Arbus committed suicide in 1971, aged 48.
The art of Diane Arbus is a continuous view on his contemporaries in North America. Entirely in black and white, it comes in the following of the photographs of Dorothea Lange.
However, where Lange used photography to show the psychological and social distress of people affected by the crisis, Diane Arbus somehow treated the opposite.
Arbus's characters are integrated into the world without actually being normal: a giant, for example. Or their behavior is marginal to society's decorous rules: nudists. Or, simply, they care as everyone in activities that one might ask the deeper meaning: a nap next to a camping table, the boy who plays at Central Park with a hand grenade toy.
Arbus is not Barnum. The victim is herself, who can no longer understand the world around her.
The picture of identical twins in New Jersey, made in 1967, is one of her most famous images. The mystery of the psychological and social life of homozygote twins can only be understood by them.
Christie's sells on October 6 in New York a copy of this photograph, 37 x 32 cm, estimated $ 250K, that leaves no doubt about the disarray of the artist: she herself gave it to her psychiatrist. Diane Arbus committed suicide in 1971, aged 48.
1968 A Family on the Lawn by Diane Arbus
2008 SOLD for $ 550K including premium by Sotheby's
Armed with her Rolleiflex, Diane Arbus observes the modern rites of American life. She photographs ordinary people in socially aberrant and disturbing situations. She always had violent attacks of depression and searches for her own use if human life has some meaning.
In 1968 she decides to study more specifically the theme of the family. Seeking the monstrous within the normality, she sees in a shop an excessive blonde of around 35, incredibly eyelashed and booted. This woman certainly has a family and the husband must be a dress maker or a restaurateur. They make an appointment for a summer Sunday, to enjoy the garden.
The husband is instead a rhythm and blues publisher and they have three children. Diane captures a moment of relaxation. Husband and wife take a nap on their lounge chairs, well separated by a low table carrying a few ordinary items. Farther on, the four-year-old boy is leaning over a small pool. None of them is interested in the others or in the photographer. The other two children are not visible.
Diane will comment: "I think all families are creepy in a way". This photo, titled A Family on Their Lawn One Sunday in Westchester NY, responds to her research. Diane included it in 1970 in her "Box of Ten Photographs" which summarizes her work and whose ultimate entries are the giant, the dwarf and the senior dance.
Signed prints of this photo are very rare. One of them, 40 x 40 cm, was sold for $ 550K including premium by Sotheby's on April 8, 2008 from a lower estimate of $ 200K, lot 264. Another one passed at Sotheby's on October 1, 2020, lot 9.
In 1968 she decides to study more specifically the theme of the family. Seeking the monstrous within the normality, she sees in a shop an excessive blonde of around 35, incredibly eyelashed and booted. This woman certainly has a family and the husband must be a dress maker or a restaurateur. They make an appointment for a summer Sunday, to enjoy the garden.
The husband is instead a rhythm and blues publisher and they have three children. Diane captures a moment of relaxation. Husband and wife take a nap on their lounge chairs, well separated by a low table carrying a few ordinary items. Farther on, the four-year-old boy is leaning over a small pool. None of them is interested in the others or in the photographer. The other two children are not visible.
Diane will comment: "I think all families are creepy in a way". This photo, titled A Family on Their Lawn One Sunday in Westchester NY, responds to her research. Diane included it in 1970 in her "Box of Ten Photographs" which summarizes her work and whose ultimate entries are the giant, the dwarf and the senior dance.
Signed prints of this photo are very rare. One of them, 40 x 40 cm, was sold for $ 550K including premium by Sotheby's on April 8, 2008 from a lower estimate of $ 200K, lot 264. Another one passed at Sotheby's on October 1, 2020, lot 9.
1970s A Box of Ten Photographs by Diane Arbus
2018 SOLD for $ 790K including premium by Christie's
Aged 46 in 1969, Diane Arbus undertakes a very classical approach. For the first time, she wants to gather in a portfolio her best ten photographs, to be printed in 50 copies 37 x 37 cm.
The title is not significant : A box of ten photographs. Only the images are important. She chose the strongest and the most confusing, those that create doubts about the true nature of US mankind. The earliest view in this anthology was from 1962, when she began to be appealed by teratological monsters and aberrant social behaviors.
Her own mental health did not resist. Very few sets were already printed and signed when she committed suicide, in 1971. The project was completed by her estate, reaching the targeted edition run of 50.
A posthumous portfolio printed in the 1970s, number 25/50 in pristine condition in its original Plexiglas framing box specially designed for the artist, was sold for $ 790K by Christie's on April 6, 2018, lot 23.
The portfolio 15/50 printed in 1973 accompanied with original Plexiglas box was sold for $ 1M by Christie's on May 15, 2023, lot 24 B.
To assess the importance of this portfolio, here are some results for photographs sold individually in similar size. Note that Arbus did not include in her selection her most famous image, the 1962 Child with a hand grenade in Central Park.
Identical Twins was sold by Christie's for $ 730K on October 5, 2018, lot 242.
A Jewish Giant was sold by Christie's for $ 580K on May 17, 2017, lot 25 B.
A Family on the lawn was sold by Sotheby's for $ 550K on April 8, 2008, lot 264.
The title is not significant : A box of ten photographs. Only the images are important. She chose the strongest and the most confusing, those that create doubts about the true nature of US mankind. The earliest view in this anthology was from 1962, when she began to be appealed by teratological monsters and aberrant social behaviors.
Her own mental health did not resist. Very few sets were already printed and signed when she committed suicide, in 1971. The project was completed by her estate, reaching the targeted edition run of 50.
A posthumous portfolio printed in the 1970s, number 25/50 in pristine condition in its original Plexiglas framing box specially designed for the artist, was sold for $ 790K by Christie's on April 6, 2018, lot 23.
The portfolio 15/50 printed in 1973 accompanied with original Plexiglas box was sold for $ 1M by Christie's on May 15, 2023, lot 24 B.
To assess the importance of this portfolio, here are some results for photographs sold individually in similar size. Note that Arbus did not include in her selection her most famous image, the 1962 Child with a hand grenade in Central Park.
Identical Twins was sold by Christie's for $ 730K on October 5, 2018, lot 242.
A Jewish Giant was sold by Christie's for $ 580K on May 17, 2017, lot 25 B.
A Family on the lawn was sold by Sotheby's for $ 550K on April 8, 2008, lot 264.
early 1970s mural size by ansel adams
2017 sold for $ 560k including premium
At the early age of 14 Ansel Adams is dazzled forever by the beauty of the Yosemite. Anxious to preserve the wilderness, he is deeply involved with the Sierra Club which aims to promote national parks and he abandons his vocation for music in order to become a photographer.
The work of Adams is completely figurative but his approach is new. Like the best abstract painters, he considers that his art must express his emotion. To reconcile these opposites, a technical perfection is required. An exceptional technician, he finds the recipes that meet his demand.
When shooting, very small apertures ensure a total sharpness, the judicious choice of the filter anticipates the expression of the emotion and the snapshot is carried out at the best moment of an ephemeral lighting due to a cloudy sky or a moon light.
After the war Adams reuses his best negatives to prepare mural size prints that are highly appreciated by companies for a spectacular decoration of their offices. Two major auction sales have been made : a Californian collection at Christie's on April 11, 2008 and the Polaroid collection at Sotheby's on June 21 and 22, 2010. In both cases the detailed dates of the prints had not been archived.
Moonrise, Hernandez NM is the most famous work by Adams. The 100 x 144 cm print made for Polaroid in the 1950s or 1960s was sold for $ 520K including premium in 2010 and is estimated $ 400K for sale by Christie's in New York on April 6, lot 232.
Clearing winter storm is his most spectacular mountain scenery. The 103 x 139 cm print made in the early 1970s for the Californian collection was sold for $ 480K including premium in 2008 and is estimated $ 300K on April 6 in the same sale as above, lot 235. The 98 x 132 cm print of the same view for Polaroid was sold for $ 720K including premium in 2010.
RESULTS
Yosemite : SOLD for $ 560K including premium
Moonrise : Unsold
The work of Adams is completely figurative but his approach is new. Like the best abstract painters, he considers that his art must express his emotion. To reconcile these opposites, a technical perfection is required. An exceptional technician, he finds the recipes that meet his demand.
When shooting, very small apertures ensure a total sharpness, the judicious choice of the filter anticipates the expression of the emotion and the snapshot is carried out at the best moment of an ephemeral lighting due to a cloudy sky or a moon light.
After the war Adams reuses his best negatives to prepare mural size prints that are highly appreciated by companies for a spectacular decoration of their offices. Two major auction sales have been made : a Californian collection at Christie's on April 11, 2008 and the Polaroid collection at Sotheby's on June 21 and 22, 2010. In both cases the detailed dates of the prints had not been archived.
Moonrise, Hernandez NM is the most famous work by Adams. The 100 x 144 cm print made for Polaroid in the 1950s or 1960s was sold for $ 520K including premium in 2010 and is estimated $ 400K for sale by Christie's in New York on April 6, lot 232.
Clearing winter storm is his most spectacular mountain scenery. The 103 x 139 cm print made in the early 1970s for the Californian collection was sold for $ 480K including premium in 2008 and is estimated $ 300K on April 6 in the same sale as above, lot 235. The 98 x 132 cm print of the same view for Polaroid was sold for $ 720K including premium in 2010.
RESULTS
Yosemite : SOLD for $ 560K including premium
Moonrise : Unsold
1974 the tricycle in dye transfer
2015 sold for $ 365k including premium
William Eggleston is enthusiast for photography. In 1973 or 1974 he is enticed by the advertising of a laboratory announcing the dye transfer technique as the ultimate in color photography. He observes to what extent the colors are bright and saturated. Perfection is possible, but before him it has only been used for publicity.
He tests a saturated blood red over a large area in his ceiling of Greenwood, Mississippi, which is a great technical achievement.
The artist likes one of his own slides taken around 1969 or 1970 showing a child's tricycle in a suburban environment. The view taken from the level of the machine is original and balanced and the appearance of the houses through the wheels is pleasing. The color range is tempting. Entitled Memphis, this image soon becomes the icon of the introduction of color photography as a major art.
Eggleston realizes in 1974 his first portfolio of dye transfer prints. In 1976 the Museum of Modern Art hosts an exhibition of his photos. The tricycle of Memphis is chosen for the cover of the catalog.
On October 8, 2015, Phillips sold for $ 365K from a lower estimate of $ 250K a 30 x 45 cm print of the tricycle, signed but not dated, made during the early experiments in dye transfer by the artist. It is estimated, lot 21.
Time passed, and the dye transfer is no longer available. Other techniques allow the same color quality on even larger dimensions. A 112 x 152 cm Memphis tricycle printed in 2012 by the Eggleston Artistic Trust was sold by Christie's for $ 580K on March 12, 2012, lot 24 and for $ 1M on May 15, 2023, lot 26 B.
He tests a saturated blood red over a large area in his ceiling of Greenwood, Mississippi, which is a great technical achievement.
The artist likes one of his own slides taken around 1969 or 1970 showing a child's tricycle in a suburban environment. The view taken from the level of the machine is original and balanced and the appearance of the houses through the wheels is pleasing. The color range is tempting. Entitled Memphis, this image soon becomes the icon of the introduction of color photography as a major art.
Eggleston realizes in 1974 his first portfolio of dye transfer prints. In 1976 the Museum of Modern Art hosts an exhibition of his photos. The tricycle of Memphis is chosen for the cover of the catalog.
On October 8, 2015, Phillips sold for $ 365K from a lower estimate of $ 250K a 30 x 45 cm print of the tricycle, signed but not dated, made during the early experiments in dye transfer by the artist. It is estimated, lot 21.
Time passed, and the dye transfer is no longer available. Other techniques allow the same color quality on even larger dimensions. A 112 x 152 cm Memphis tricycle printed in 2012 by the Eggleston Artistic Trust was sold by Christie's for $ 580K on March 12, 2012, lot 24 and for $ 1M on May 15, 2023, lot 26 B.
1974 Study in Red by William Eggleston
2009 SOLD 158 K$ including premium
Throughout the twentieth century, the history of painting is a long research on color. The subject is vanishing, abstraction and abstract expressionism are dominating.
In 1973, the young American photographer William Eggleston decided that photography should follow the same trend. He selected the best color process at the time, the dye transfer, and set to work.
The photograph entitled "Greenwood, Mississippi" or "The Red Ceiling" is his first masterpiece. The subject is miserable: a ceiling and a wall corner with a bare light bulb. Eggleston achieves here a technical feat: the red blood color is spreading over the entire area, streaked with the white flashes of electric wiring.
The artist declared twenty years later that he had never seen a reproduction of this image which met his satisfaction (quoted both by Wikipedia and by the Christie's catalog). Only his dye transfers provide the desired result, namely the shocking effect created by the power of the wet blood color.
The arrival of one of his original prints, 30 x 46 cm, to be sold at Christie's in New York on October 8 is an artistic event that justifies an estimate of $ 150K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Interesting result for this pioneering work: 158 K$ including premium.
Link to the picture, shared by Artdaily.
In 1973, the young American photographer William Eggleston decided that photography should follow the same trend. He selected the best color process at the time, the dye transfer, and set to work.
The photograph entitled "Greenwood, Mississippi" or "The Red Ceiling" is his first masterpiece. The subject is miserable: a ceiling and a wall corner with a bare light bulb. Eggleston achieves here a technical feat: the red blood color is spreading over the entire area, streaked with the white flashes of electric wiring.
The artist declared twenty years later that he had never seen a reproduction of this image which met his satisfaction (quoted both by Wikipedia and by the Christie's catalog). Only his dye transfers provide the desired result, namely the shocking effect created by the power of the wet blood color.
The arrival of one of his original prints, 30 x 46 cm, to be sold at Christie's in New York on October 8 is an artistic event that justifies an estimate of $ 150K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Interesting result for this pioneering work: 158 K$ including premium.
Link to the picture, shared by Artdaily.
1977 Red Morning in Black and White
2017 SOLD for £ 850K including premium
The almost single theme of the dual team Gilbert and George is the condition of life in London, not always easy in the East End where they live since 1968 in a house of the 18th century.
They are anti-conformists in all their actions. When they declare themselves royalists, it is because they perceive in the communism the threat of a social leveling. Their mural installations are assemblages of heteroclite photographs certainly inspired by their neighbors the punks.
In 1977 the socialists progress too much to their liking. They create a series of 17 prophetic works under the title Red Morning to predict by the subtitles all the coming disasters including Attack, Death, Dirt, Scandal.
Each opus is a regular rectangle of three to five elements in each row and column. The images are divided into three themes : the self-portrait of one or the other of the two artists standing in shirt-sleeves in a vulnerable attitude, large buildings in the City and the urban surrounding reflected in a puddle. Some elements are colored in dark red.
Hate is a 240 x 200 cm collage of sixteen elements 60 x 50 cm. The twelve photos of the perimeter are colored. This artwork was sold for $ 1,8M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
With the offbeat and always unpredictable humor that characterizes the duo, Hell is the only one of the 17 murals that has not been colored at all. In the same format as Hate, it is signed George and Gilbert. Hell is estimated £ 800K for sale by Christie's in London on October 3, lot 21.
They are anti-conformists in all their actions. When they declare themselves royalists, it is because they perceive in the communism the threat of a social leveling. Their mural installations are assemblages of heteroclite photographs certainly inspired by their neighbors the punks.
In 1977 the socialists progress too much to their liking. They create a series of 17 prophetic works under the title Red Morning to predict by the subtitles all the coming disasters including Attack, Death, Dirt, Scandal.
Each opus is a regular rectangle of three to five elements in each row and column. The images are divided into three themes : the self-portrait of one or the other of the two artists standing in shirt-sleeves in a vulnerable attitude, large buildings in the City and the urban surrounding reflected in a puddle. Some elements are colored in dark red.
Hate is a 240 x 200 cm collage of sixteen elements 60 x 50 cm. The twelve photos of the perimeter are colored. This artwork was sold for $ 1,8M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
With the offbeat and always unpredictable humor that characterizes the duo, Hell is the only one of the 17 murals that has not been colored at all. In the same format as Hate, it is signed George and Gilbert. Hell is estimated £ 800K for sale by Christie's in London on October 3, lot 21.
1977 Dirty Photos by Gilbert and George
2019 SOLD for £ 800K including premium
Gilbert and George made their first composite mountings of photographs in 1971. From 1974 these compositions become geometrically structured, in rectangular formats.
In their early days, Gilbert and George exhibited themselves on stage as living sculptures, with a deliberately shocking fantasy. Residing in the East End, they gradually take abhorrence of the punk society and of the dirt that invades London.
In 1977 they produce two large series of photographs whose message is openly political. They want to draw the attention of the general public and of the politicians by these sordid and decadent illustrations of real modern life. They almost always insert in these works their selfies dressed as businessmen of the City.
The first of these series, titled Red Morning to denounce Communism, is a prophecy of social disasters. It consists of 17 pieces of 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 elementary images, with the most disturbing words as titles. Hate, 240 x 200 cm, was sold for $ 1.8M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
The next series is named Dirty Words Pictures. For the individual titles of these 26 pieces, the artists mix slang insults and sexual vocabulary. Bummed, 355 x 255 cm in 25 parts, was sold for £ 960K including premium by Sotheby's on June 30, 2014.
Bugger, 300 x 250 cm also in 25 parts, signed George and Gilbert, is estimated £ 700K for sale by Sotheby's in London on June 26, lot 13. The two outer columns are pictures of crumpled and soiled newspapers.
In their early days, Gilbert and George exhibited themselves on stage as living sculptures, with a deliberately shocking fantasy. Residing in the East End, they gradually take abhorrence of the punk society and of the dirt that invades London.
In 1977 they produce two large series of photographs whose message is openly political. They want to draw the attention of the general public and of the politicians by these sordid and decadent illustrations of real modern life. They almost always insert in these works their selfies dressed as businessmen of the City.
The first of these series, titled Red Morning to denounce Communism, is a prophecy of social disasters. It consists of 17 pieces of 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 elementary images, with the most disturbing words as titles. Hate, 240 x 200 cm, was sold for $ 1.8M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
The next series is named Dirty Words Pictures. For the individual titles of these 26 pieces, the artists mix slang insults and sexual vocabulary. Bummed, 355 x 255 cm in 25 parts, was sold for £ 960K including premium by Sotheby's on June 30, 2014.
Bugger, 300 x 250 cm also in 25 parts, signed George and Gilbert, is estimated £ 700K for sale by Sotheby's in London on June 26, lot 13. The two outer columns are pictures of crumpled and soiled newspapers.
1978 Dovima in a Dior Gown
2010 SOLD 840 K€ including premium
The fashion photography, as the wall posters, must attract the attention of increasingly bored passers-by. In this category, Dovima with Elephants by Richard Avedon is one of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century.
We are in August 1955. Dior prepares his fall collection. Dovima, who had posed for Irving Penn, is one of the most famous supermodels of her generation.
The photograph shows Dovima in a Dior dress, among the elephants of the Cirque d'Hiver. She reaches out toward the ear of one of the animals in a theatrical gesture that we should not look for meaning. The other elephant, which we imagine being annoyed by this story, raises the trunk and a leg.
The gown also is historic: it was the first evening dress designed by Yves Saint-Laurent for Christian Dior.
In Paris on November 20, Christie's holds a sale of works owned by the Richard Avedon Foundation. The photograph of Dovima, lot 16 estimated € 400K, is the largest existing exhibition print of this image.
POST SALE COMMENT
This silver print made in 1978 is huge, 217 x 167 cm. It deserves its exceptional price, € 840K including premium.
We are in August 1955. Dior prepares his fall collection. Dovima, who had posed for Irving Penn, is one of the most famous supermodels of her generation.
The photograph shows Dovima in a Dior dress, among the elephants of the Cirque d'Hiver. She reaches out toward the ear of one of the animals in a theatrical gesture that we should not look for meaning. The other elephant, which we imagine being annoyed by this story, raises the trunk and a leg.
The gown also is historic: it was the first evening dress designed by Yves Saint-Laurent for Christian Dior.
In Paris on November 20, Christie's holds a sale of works owned by the Richard Avedon Foundation. The photograph of Dovima, lot 16 estimated € 400K, is the largest existing exhibition print of this image.
POST SALE COMMENT
This silver print made in 1978 is huge, 217 x 167 cm. It deserves its exceptional price, € 840K including premium.
1978 # 13 by Cindy Sherman
2008 SOLD for $ 900K by Christie's
Christie's sold for $ 900K from a lower estimate of $ 300K on September 9, 2008 a photo by Cindy Sherman, lot 97. It is a one of one 50 x 40 cm black and white gelatin silver print, signed and dated 1978.
The title is significant : Untitled Film Still # 13. Wikipedia tells us that this early series of Sherman include about 80 images. Imitating the photographic prints made for promotion of feature films, Cindy already plays the dual role of photographer and model that will launch her glory. Taking the pretext of getting a book on a high shelf of a bookcase, the 24-year-old blonde displays herself in a pose at once serious and attractive.
Sherman has many admirers, sensitive to her imagery on woman's place in society. Always changing, she is both everyone and nobody.
The same auction house has already sold some Untitled Film Stills. On 17 October 2007, for $ 205 K, we saw her coming down the stairs of an official building (Still # 22, 70 x 88 cm, from an edition of 6). On following 14 November, for $ 187 K, we saw a brunette preparing her bag in her living room (Still # 12, 20 x 25 cm, from an edition of 10). The Still # 41, sold £ 85 K on October 16, shows her alone in an empty yard (60 x 92 cm, from an edition of 3).
Which of these young women is the "real" Cindy? None, and all. But the most beautiful is the # 13, the only of these four where you see her in close up. $ 300 K? Why not, I remind you that this photo is unique.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photo was unique and exceptional. We appreciate that Christie's was fully aware of that when we look at the lot description in the catalog and at its presentation on the siteweb as the highlight of this first major sale of the season.
Buyers followed: 900 K$ including fees for this image representing what was best in the beginning of Sherman's career. It is an excellent result.
The title is significant : Untitled Film Still # 13. Wikipedia tells us that this early series of Sherman include about 80 images. Imitating the photographic prints made for promotion of feature films, Cindy already plays the dual role of photographer and model that will launch her glory. Taking the pretext of getting a book on a high shelf of a bookcase, the 24-year-old blonde displays herself in a pose at once serious and attractive.
Sherman has many admirers, sensitive to her imagery on woman's place in society. Always changing, she is both everyone and nobody.
The same auction house has already sold some Untitled Film Stills. On 17 October 2007, for $ 205 K, we saw her coming down the stairs of an official building (Still # 22, 70 x 88 cm, from an edition of 6). On following 14 November, for $ 187 K, we saw a brunette preparing her bag in her living room (Still # 12, 20 x 25 cm, from an edition of 10). The Still # 41, sold £ 85 K on October 16, shows her alone in an empty yard (60 x 92 cm, from an edition of 3).
Which of these young women is the "real" Cindy? None, and all. But the most beautiful is the # 13, the only of these four where you see her in close up. $ 300 K? Why not, I remind you that this photo is unique.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photo was unique and exceptional. We appreciate that Christie's was fully aware of that when we look at the lot description in the catalog and at its presentation on the siteweb as the highlight of this first major sale of the season.
Buyers followed: 900 K$ including fees for this image representing what was best in the beginning of Sherman's career. It is an excellent result.
1978 Cindy in the City
2012 SOLD 750 K$ including premium
The young actresses are playing a different role from one film to another. They are dressed, made-up, staged with a variety that is masking their true personality.
From the Film Stills, her first series then in black and white, Cindy Sherman does the opposite. She needs neither a director nor a cinematographer to photograph herself, embodying the variety of daily emotions of all the women in the world. All photos in this series are Untitled: these images that look like stills are not linked to any real movie.
On March 9 in New York, Sotheby's sells Untitled Film Still # 21, 1 from an edition of 10 made in 1978, size 20 x 25 cm. Here is the link to the catalog.
This is one of very few early photos of Cindy where the face is in close up. Well lit by the sun, she is shown as she was looking in true life. No, it would be too simple.
Cindy's face is perfectly sharp in front of an array of skyscrapers that are somehow blurry. The angle of shooting down to top is always favorable to suggest strength. The catalog considers it as an achievement of feminism, the image of the businesswoman who just competes with men for world domination. This pleasant allegory is estimated $ 150K.
No, it deserves better. Have a close look. The oval locks of hair under a crown-shaped hat are those of a statue, like also the gaze that turns to one side and seems empty. A too small mouth endeavours to avoid a smile, like the Statue of Liberty. The role of Cindy in the picture # 21 seems to be that of Bartholdi's masterpiece dominating New York.
Magritte would have loved this real 24 year old woman disguised as a monumental sculpture.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was right, it deserved better. This photo was sold $ 750K including premium.
From the Film Stills, her first series then in black and white, Cindy Sherman does the opposite. She needs neither a director nor a cinematographer to photograph herself, embodying the variety of daily emotions of all the women in the world. All photos in this series are Untitled: these images that look like stills are not linked to any real movie.
On March 9 in New York, Sotheby's sells Untitled Film Still # 21, 1 from an edition of 10 made in 1978, size 20 x 25 cm. Here is the link to the catalog.
This is one of very few early photos of Cindy where the face is in close up. Well lit by the sun, she is shown as she was looking in true life. No, it would be too simple.
Cindy's face is perfectly sharp in front of an array of skyscrapers that are somehow blurry. The angle of shooting down to top is always favorable to suggest strength. The catalog considers it as an achievement of feminism, the image of the businesswoman who just competes with men for world domination. This pleasant allegory is estimated $ 150K.
No, it deserves better. Have a close look. The oval locks of hair under a crown-shaped hat are those of a statue, like also the gaze that turns to one side and seems empty. A too small mouth endeavours to avoid a smile, like the Statue of Liberty. The role of Cindy in the picture # 21 seems to be that of Bartholdi's masterpiece dominating New York.
Magritte would have loved this real 24 year old woman disguised as a monumental sculpture.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was right, it deserved better. This photo was sold $ 750K including premium.
1978 a day in the life of gilbert and george
2016 sold for $ 670k including premium
Gilbert and George are an inseparable duo like Castor and Pollux or Laurel and Hardy. Each man plays his attraction to his partner but they maintain the ambiguity of their couple by carefully avoiding to admit a sexual affair.
They were students in sculpture when they stated that each of them was a work of art for the other. They demonstrated it in happenings where they were drinking much gin. Their message is socially displaced and their strict business suits hide their real personality within an indecipherable mystery. Photography, the necessary complement to the happenings, has become their main business.
One of them explained that the dual work enables to erase the inhibition or self doubt of the individuals. His fellow could have made the same statement. They follow the example of Flaubert or Magritte according to whom the strength and originality of the message may be raised above a trivial bourgeois appearance.
Gilbert and George divide their figures in elements which they assemble in an artist's frame. On October 5 in New York, Phillips sells Day, executed in 1978, lot 16 estimated $ 600K.
Day is composed of sixteen panels 50 x 40 cm for an overall size of 200 x 160 cm. The images are constituting two troubling registers questioning in a different way the meaning of everyday life. The four characters at the top are not identifiable and their activity is not explained. Two of them sleep on the ground. The bottom side is a double selfie hand-colored in deep red.
Day had been sold for $ 276K including premium by Christie's on 14 May 2003.
They were students in sculpture when they stated that each of them was a work of art for the other. They demonstrated it in happenings where they were drinking much gin. Their message is socially displaced and their strict business suits hide their real personality within an indecipherable mystery. Photography, the necessary complement to the happenings, has become their main business.
One of them explained that the dual work enables to erase the inhibition or self doubt of the individuals. His fellow could have made the same statement. They follow the example of Flaubert or Magritte according to whom the strength and originality of the message may be raised above a trivial bourgeois appearance.
Gilbert and George divide their figures in elements which they assemble in an artist's frame. On October 5 in New York, Phillips sells Day, executed in 1978, lot 16 estimated $ 600K.
Day is composed of sixteen panels 50 x 40 cm for an overall size of 200 x 160 cm. The images are constituting two troubling registers questioning in a different way the meaning of everyday life. The four characters at the top are not identifiable and their activity is not explained. Two of them sleep on the ground. The bottom side is a double selfie hand-colored in deep red.
Day had been sold for $ 276K including premium by Christie's on 14 May 2003.
1978 holidays in peru
2018 unsold
Irving Penn is a fashion photographer for Vogue magazine. In 1948 a team is in Lima for shots. His photo of the model Jean Patchett sitting at a café was sold for $ 137K including premium by Phillips on April 1, 2014 in a selenium-enhanced 49 x 47 cm silver print made in 1984.
The group leaves excepted Penn who takes his Christmas holidays in Cuzco. In this ancient Inca capital at 3,300 m in height in the Andes, he sees a population of small mountaineers quietly walking in the streets.
Throughout his long career Irving Penn is not an outdoor photographer. He installs his equipment in a photographer's studio unused since the 19th century and takes photos of children around an incongruous Victorian pedestal table.
His image of a boy and his younger sister in their rustic clothes is one of his masterpieces. It moves the viewer by giving a fair impression of the similarity between children all over the world in the diversity of races. Both have the same stiff posture and vague gaze. They wait for the artist to do his task and hold their hands on the table to comfort one another.
Much later in his studio in Long Island, Irving Penn prints this now famous photo in 50 x 50 cm using his best process which is platinum and palladium.
A 1971 print was sold for $ 530K including premium by Christie's on April 11, 2008 over a lower estimate of $ 250K. A print numbered 17/60 in January 1978 was sold for $ 360K including premium by Christie's on October 18, 2007. The number 60/60 is estimated $ 200K for sale by Bonhams in New York on April 6, lot 61.
The group leaves excepted Penn who takes his Christmas holidays in Cuzco. In this ancient Inca capital at 3,300 m in height in the Andes, he sees a population of small mountaineers quietly walking in the streets.
Throughout his long career Irving Penn is not an outdoor photographer. He installs his equipment in a photographer's studio unused since the 19th century and takes photos of children around an incongruous Victorian pedestal table.
His image of a boy and his younger sister in their rustic clothes is one of his masterpieces. It moves the viewer by giving a fair impression of the similarity between children all over the world in the diversity of races. Both have the same stiff posture and vague gaze. They wait for the artist to do his task and hold their hands on the table to comfort one another.
Much later in his studio in Long Island, Irving Penn prints this now famous photo in 50 x 50 cm using his best process which is platinum and palladium.
A 1971 print was sold for $ 530K including premium by Christie's on April 11, 2008 over a lower estimate of $ 250K. A print numbered 17/60 in January 1978 was sold for $ 360K including premium by Christie's on October 18, 2007. The number 60/60 is estimated $ 200K for sale by Bonhams in New York on April 6, lot 61.
1979 Andy Warhol for the Advancement of Visual Arts
2010 SOLD 254 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Painter, filmmaker, printmaker, in connection with the important people of his time, Andy Warhol was also a prolific photographer. He used photography as a source of inspiration for his art. The techniques of instant photography by Polaroid met this need perfectly.
Two events, one positive and one negative, are pushing the photographic work of Warhol on the spot.
By his will in 1987, the artist had created the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. On February 1, 2010, according to its mission for the advancement of art, the foundation has donated 28 500 photos of Warhol to be shared between 180 colleges, museums and galleries in the United States.
The announcement, published by AP, is shared on the foundation website. The amount of the donation is valued at $ 28 million.
The other event is the bankruptcy of Polaroid. One of the assets of that company was the collection made by its founder Edwin Land in collaboration with Ansel Adams. Sotheby's announce for 21 and 22 June the sale in New Yorkof more than 1200 pieces of this ensemble, including top works of classic photography and Polaroid photographs.This event is currently the subject of legal wrangling.
The announcement of the sale includes a Polacolor type 108 portrait of Farrah Fawcett by Andy Warhol, made circa 1979, estimated $ 5K. This image of the actress with the abundant blond hair is shared by FineArtPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The abundant photographic activity of Warhol was a pleasant surprise for the market. He is now enshrined as a master of the Polaroid instant photo, with two self-portraits of 1979 sold 254 and 146 K $.
In this sale with exceptional success, the picture of Farrah Fawcett was sold $ 44 K, far below the best prices for Polaroid prints. A composed image by Chuck Close was sold $ 290 K and a simple self portrait of the same author $ 135K. It had been announced that Lucas Samaras would be the revelation of the sale: a mural-size Polaroid photo was sold $ 195K.
These prices include fees.
Painter, filmmaker, printmaker, in connection with the important people of his time, Andy Warhol was also a prolific photographer. He used photography as a source of inspiration for his art. The techniques of instant photography by Polaroid met this need perfectly.
Two events, one positive and one negative, are pushing the photographic work of Warhol on the spot.
By his will in 1987, the artist had created the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. On February 1, 2010, according to its mission for the advancement of art, the foundation has donated 28 500 photos of Warhol to be shared between 180 colleges, museums and galleries in the United States.
The announcement, published by AP, is shared on the foundation website. The amount of the donation is valued at $ 28 million.
The other event is the bankruptcy of Polaroid. One of the assets of that company was the collection made by its founder Edwin Land in collaboration with Ansel Adams. Sotheby's announce for 21 and 22 June the sale in New Yorkof more than 1200 pieces of this ensemble, including top works of classic photography and Polaroid photographs.This event is currently the subject of legal wrangling.
The announcement of the sale includes a Polacolor type 108 portrait of Farrah Fawcett by Andy Warhol, made circa 1979, estimated $ 5K. This image of the actress with the abundant blond hair is shared by FineArtPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The abundant photographic activity of Warhol was a pleasant surprise for the market. He is now enshrined as a master of the Polaroid instant photo, with two self-portraits of 1979 sold 254 and 146 K $.
In this sale with exceptional success, the picture of Farrah Fawcett was sold $ 44 K, far below the best prices for Polaroid prints. A composed image by Chuck Close was sold $ 290 K and a simple self portrait of the same author $ 135K. It had been announced that Lucas Samaras would be the revelation of the sale: a mural-size Polaroid photo was sold $ 195K.
These prices include fees.
(1950)-1979 Harlequin as a Modern Fashion Theme
2014 SOLD 245 K$ including premium
On May 2, 2011, a photo by Irving Penn was sold for $ 131K including premium by Heritage, far below both the lower estimate and the usual price for this image.
This serial number 27/30 has been exhibited from November 2012 to October 2013 by the Forbes Gallery in New York. Coming now from the Forbes collection, it is estimated $ 200K, for sale byChristie's in New York on September 29, lot 10.
I republish below my 2011 story, updated for adding a further result on another copy.
The best works of Irving Penn have become icons of the black and white photography of the twentieth century. Notably published by Vogue magazine, he was like Avedon one of the pioneers of fashion photography.
Penn worked primarily in the studio, and brought great attention to lighting. He maintained within fashion a psychological dimension that makes him rightly classified among the masters of portrait.
His favorite model was Lisa Fonssagrives, whom he married in 1950. The photo showing Lisa dressed as a Harlequin dates indeed of that year. She is seated, wearing a long dress with an unusual pattern of big checkerboard. Her elegantly gloved hand holds the brim of the Harlequin hat.
The copy for sale is a platinum-palladium print made in 1979, 52 x 48 cm, numbered 27/30.
On April 25, 2007, the copy 28/30 of the same edition was sold for $ 384K including premium by Phillips de Pury. This print has been sold later by Christie's on November 12, 2011 for € 265K including premium.
On June 22, 2007, a silver print from an edition of 10 made in 1984, of similar dimensions, was sold for £ 204K including premium by Phillips de Pury.
This serial number 27/30 has been exhibited from November 2012 to October 2013 by the Forbes Gallery in New York. Coming now from the Forbes collection, it is estimated $ 200K, for sale byChristie's in New York on September 29, lot 10.
I republish below my 2011 story, updated for adding a further result on another copy.
The best works of Irving Penn have become icons of the black and white photography of the twentieth century. Notably published by Vogue magazine, he was like Avedon one of the pioneers of fashion photography.
Penn worked primarily in the studio, and brought great attention to lighting. He maintained within fashion a psychological dimension that makes him rightly classified among the masters of portrait.
His favorite model was Lisa Fonssagrives, whom he married in 1950. The photo showing Lisa dressed as a Harlequin dates indeed of that year. She is seated, wearing a long dress with an unusual pattern of big checkerboard. Her elegantly gloved hand holds the brim of the Harlequin hat.
The copy for sale is a platinum-palladium print made in 1979, 52 x 48 cm, numbered 27/30.
On April 25, 2007, the copy 28/30 of the same edition was sold for $ 384K including premium by Phillips de Pury. This print has been sold later by Christie's on November 12, 2011 for € 265K including premium.
On June 22, 2007, a silver print from an edition of 10 made in 1984, of similar dimensions, was sold for £ 204K including premium by Phillips de Pury.
1981 Big Nudes on High Heeled Shoes
2015 SOLD for $ 900K including premium
Helmut Newton was working for erotic magazines. He mostly wanted to altogether charm and shock. In 1981, with his series of Big Nudes, he made large prints in great sharpness with a scathing light on the skin of the models.
Sie kommen is a diptych which provides a key for reading the series. In the left element, four women are elegantly dressed as for a fashion show. They walk towards the operator. On the right picture, they are in the same position but they stripped everything excepted their high heeled shoes that increase their sculptural attitude.
A print of this diptych in four panels 193 x 98 cm very close to life size was sold for $ 660K including premium by Christie's on December 16, 2008.
The same group is shown on a triptych entitled Walking Women, Paris. They are standing in slightly varying positions and once again completely naked over their shoes. Newton had left them a freedom of movement and probably chose among many negatives three images that best expressed the charm and the strangeness of the scene.
This triptych in an image format 135 x 113 cm each in three separate mounts 172 x 150 cm is estimated $ 700K, lot 8 for sale byPhillips in New York on April 1.
Sie kommen is a diptych which provides a key for reading the series. In the left element, four women are elegantly dressed as for a fashion show. They walk towards the operator. On the right picture, they are in the same position but they stripped everything excepted their high heeled shoes that increase their sculptural attitude.
A print of this diptych in four panels 193 x 98 cm very close to life size was sold for $ 660K including premium by Christie's on December 16, 2008.
The same group is shown on a triptych entitled Walking Women, Paris. They are standing in slightly varying positions and once again completely naked over their shoes. Newton had left them a freedom of movement and probably chose among many negatives three images that best expressed the charm and the strangeness of the scene.
This triptych in an image format 135 x 113 cm each in three separate mounts 172 x 150 cm is estimated $ 700K, lot 8 for sale byPhillips in New York on April 1.
1981-1995 Helmut Newton dominated by Naked Women
2008 SOLD 660 K$ including premium
I have often discussed the trend for gigantic painting and sculpture. It applies equally to photography, as shown by the results reached by very large prints by Prince or Gursky.
The pioneer of photographic gigantism was Helmut Newton. Christie's tells the story in its catalog from the sale of December 16 in New York.
In 1980, German police was chasing the terrorist group Baader-Meinhof. Photos were prepared showing group members full length and life size.
Newton immediately had the idea to do the same with his favorite subject: the female nude full-front standing up on high heel shoes. His Big Nude series includes at least sixteen photos of different women, numbered in Roman numerals. Thus were born these black and white 2 x 1 m prints which are the strongest pieces of his work.
The best known is the number III, Henrietta. She is sculptural, rebel and domineering. It is estimated at $ 400 K as Lot 16 of the sale. On 1 November 2005, Christie's had sold another copy £ 180 K costs included.
Of course, Newton continued in the same trend. In 1981 for Vogue magazine, he photographed in diptychs some groups of naked and clothed people, presented in exactly the same position. The best picture, entitled Sie kommen (they are coming), shows four women coming in a walking attitude. Each element is composed of two panels of the same size as Big Nudes. Lot 59 is estimated 400 K $. A small print of the same diptych was sold $ 240 K inclusive by Christie's on April 10 2008.
In the December sale, fans of Newton may make their choice among 89 lots of this artist.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sie Kommen got an excellent result: 660 K $ inclusive. I did not find in the databases a result for a copy of this photo in this size.
Henrietta, a sought but less rare photo, was sold at around its lower estimate: 480 K $ inclusive.
LATER COMMENT
In the above example, Sie kommen is a set of four exhibition panels each numbered II / III and annotated in 1995 for the Venice Biennale.
The pioneer of photographic gigantism was Helmut Newton. Christie's tells the story in its catalog from the sale of December 16 in New York.
In 1980, German police was chasing the terrorist group Baader-Meinhof. Photos were prepared showing group members full length and life size.
Newton immediately had the idea to do the same with his favorite subject: the female nude full-front standing up on high heel shoes. His Big Nude series includes at least sixteen photos of different women, numbered in Roman numerals. Thus were born these black and white 2 x 1 m prints which are the strongest pieces of his work.
The best known is the number III, Henrietta. She is sculptural, rebel and domineering. It is estimated at $ 400 K as Lot 16 of the sale. On 1 November 2005, Christie's had sold another copy £ 180 K costs included.
Of course, Newton continued in the same trend. In 1981 for Vogue magazine, he photographed in diptychs some groups of naked and clothed people, presented in exactly the same position. The best picture, entitled Sie kommen (they are coming), shows four women coming in a walking attitude. Each element is composed of two panels of the same size as Big Nudes. Lot 59 is estimated 400 K $. A small print of the same diptych was sold $ 240 K inclusive by Christie's on April 10 2008.
In the December sale, fans of Newton may make their choice among 89 lots of this artist.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sie Kommen got an excellent result: 660 K $ inclusive. I did not find in the databases a result for a copy of this photo in this size.
Henrietta, a sought but less rare photo, was sold at around its lower estimate: 480 K $ inclusive.
LATER COMMENT
In the above example, Sie kommen is a set of four exhibition panels each numbered II / III and annotated in 1995 for the Venice Biennale.
1981 ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE AND THE BODY-BUILDERS
2009 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Robert Mapplethorpe was already illustrious and controversial during his lifetime. After his death, a victim of AIDS in 1989, discussions resumed with a vengeance around pornography and racism.
The style of his photographs of nudes is easily recognizable. Mapplethorpe is photographing body-builders, man or woman, white or black. The faces are of little interest, it is the power of the muscles that inspires the artist.
Thus in 1981, he features a male Black model named Ajitto. He is seated and huddled on a pedestal covered with a cloth. The feet are placed on the same pedestal and the face is buried in the knees. In four images, the photographer made the complete tour of his model.
These black and white photographs were published as the frontispiece in the book of 1986, "The Black Book". Prints of these photos, of formats 46 x 35 cm, are for sale by Christie's in New York on March 31. This scarce complete set is estimated 120 K $.
At auction, the very decorative photos of flowers in close-ups are the most sought artworks of Mapplethorpe.
POST SALE COMMENT
Unsold, the iconic set of the work of Mapplethorpe.
The fans continue to prefer the flowers. In the same sale, Mapplethorpe's Calla Lily has sold 120 K $ including premium, on an estimate of 100 K $.
Robert Mapplethorpe was already illustrious and controversial during his lifetime. After his death, a victim of AIDS in 1989, discussions resumed with a vengeance around pornography and racism.
The style of his photographs of nudes is easily recognizable. Mapplethorpe is photographing body-builders, man or woman, white or black. The faces are of little interest, it is the power of the muscles that inspires the artist.
Thus in 1981, he features a male Black model named Ajitto. He is seated and huddled on a pedestal covered with a cloth. The feet are placed on the same pedestal and the face is buried in the knees. In four images, the photographer made the complete tour of his model.
These black and white photographs were published as the frontispiece in the book of 1986, "The Black Book". Prints of these photos, of formats 46 x 35 cm, are for sale by Christie's in New York on March 31. This scarce complete set is estimated 120 K $.
At auction, the very decorative photos of flowers in close-ups are the most sought artworks of Mapplethorpe.
POST SALE COMMENT
Unsold, the iconic set of the work of Mapplethorpe.
The fans continue to prefer the flowers. In the same sale, Mapplethorpe's Calla Lily has sold 120 K $ including premium, on an estimate of 100 K $.
1985 When I hear the word Culture by Barbara Kruger
2011 SOLD for $ 900K including premium by Christie's
Images and words deceive us constantly. Their associations lead us into a dummy universe. Their creators manipulate our thinking for a purpose that can be social, political, commercial. We follow like a gigantic flock of sheep.
The images are innumerable and overused. Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter and Richard Prince originally built their universes on poor pictures cut from newspapers.
Barbara Kruger was working as a graphic designer for a fashion magazine. In the early 1980s she wants to share her vision of the unlimited lie of postmodern social life. She photographs her collages made of bad pictures of magazines, often torn and reassembled, on which she adds an incisive slogan.
Her early sentences are hermetic. The widespread use of You, We, or I applied to undefined groups encourages the observer to think about the balance of powers in the modern world. He expects a link between the image and the slogan, and its absence reinforces his discomfort.
The slogans soon become more familiar, based on well-known utterances understandable by anybody and diverted against the consumer society : 'Your fact is stranger than fiction', 'I shop therefore I am'.
As early as 1982 'We have received order not to move' is a cry against the oppression of women. 'We' appears as the identification of women as opposed to the society whose rules have been established by and for men.
On June 27, 2018, Sotheby's sold for £ 220K including premiuma photo 187 x 124 cm printed in 1984 displaying the threatening slogan 'We are public enemy number one', lot 194 estimated £ 180K. In this image the human form is not identifiable : character or shadow, face or back, man or woman.
'When I hear the word culture I take out my checkbook', 350 x 170 cm made in 1985, was sold for $ 900K including premium by Christie's on November 8, 2011 over a lower estimate of $ 250K, lot 3.
The images are innumerable and overused. Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter and Richard Prince originally built their universes on poor pictures cut from newspapers.
Barbara Kruger was working as a graphic designer for a fashion magazine. In the early 1980s she wants to share her vision of the unlimited lie of postmodern social life. She photographs her collages made of bad pictures of magazines, often torn and reassembled, on which she adds an incisive slogan.
Her early sentences are hermetic. The widespread use of You, We, or I applied to undefined groups encourages the observer to think about the balance of powers in the modern world. He expects a link between the image and the slogan, and its absence reinforces his discomfort.
The slogans soon become more familiar, based on well-known utterances understandable by anybody and diverted against the consumer society : 'Your fact is stranger than fiction', 'I shop therefore I am'.
As early as 1982 'We have received order not to move' is a cry against the oppression of women. 'We' appears as the identification of women as opposed to the society whose rules have been established by and for men.
On June 27, 2018, Sotheby's sold for £ 220K including premiuma photo 187 x 124 cm printed in 1984 displaying the threatening slogan 'We are public enemy number one', lot 194 estimated £ 180K. In this image the human form is not identifiable : character or shadow, face or back, man or woman.
'When I hear the word culture I take out my checkbook', 350 x 170 cm made in 1985, was sold for $ 900K including premium by Christie's on November 8, 2011 over a lower estimate of $ 250K, lot 3.
1988 self portrait on a black background
2017 sold for £ 550k including premium
In 1986, aged 40, Robert Mapplethorpe is informed that he has the AIDS virus. He reacts by an overactivity to promote his work and his social and artistic values. In May 1988 he creates the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, a non-profit organization which he also commits in the fight against AIDS.
Mapplethorpe, a slayer of all sexual taboos in his life and his art, made many self-portraits with a wide variety of positions and expressions.
The 1988 self-portrait is a swan's song. The cheeks are already hollow and the temples are going gray. Robert holds a walking cane that reinforces the message of his premature aging. The pommel is a small skull positioned in the same direction as the wide open eyes of the artist. The shot is focused on the fist and the cane : the saddened face in a little blur is ready to sink into nothingness. The body dressed in a black sweater is not visible on the black background.
Platinum prints are expensive but provide the best shades of gray. Since the 1920s the great artists use them for their best black and white images. In 1988 Robert produced three numbered prints and an artist's proof of his new self-portrait in 58 x 48 cm format. The number 3/3 is estimated £ 300K for sale by Christie's in London on October 3, lot 12.
This image is scarce. A silver print from a series of 10 in the same format was sold for £ 58K including premium by Sotheby's on July 8, 2004.
Mapplethorpe, a slayer of all sexual taboos in his life and his art, made many self-portraits with a wide variety of positions and expressions.
The 1988 self-portrait is a swan's song. The cheeks are already hollow and the temples are going gray. Robert holds a walking cane that reinforces the message of his premature aging. The pommel is a small skull positioned in the same direction as the wide open eyes of the artist. The shot is focused on the fist and the cane : the saddened face in a little blur is ready to sink into nothingness. The body dressed in a black sweater is not visible on the black background.
Platinum prints are expensive but provide the best shades of gray. Since the 1920s the great artists use them for their best black and white images. In 1988 Robert produced three numbered prints and an artist's proof of his new self-portrait in 58 x 48 cm format. The number 3/3 is estimated £ 300K for sale by Christie's in London on October 3, lot 12.
This image is scarce. A silver print from a series of 10 in the same format was sold for £ 58K including premium by Sotheby's on July 8, 2004.
1989 The Children of Sally Mann
2015 SOLD for $ 215K including premium
Sally Mann is a woman of the rural South. She and her husband raised their three children in their property of Lexington, Virginia arranged as a small paradise. She looks at her children growing up and at the children of their friends, and takes photos of them.
In traditional photography, the child is viewed by a man or a woman who transfers to him an adult thought. Few artists are actually interested in expressing the true personality of a child. Diane Arbus succeeded by disturbing her young models. Sally Mann establishes a complicity which is an opposite to Diane.
Mrs Mann is not a conventional mum. By offering to her own children a freedom to make decisions for their own actions, she becomes an observer of their psychology and of their passage at puberty. They choose their plays, take off their clothes when it pleases them, and even are entitled to refuse the images that their mother made of them.
On October 15 in New York, Swann Auction Galleries sells Candy cigarette, lot 341 estimated $ 100K. This artist's proof 50 x 60 cm in black and white was printed in 1989 for an exhibition. The negative was earlier.
Jessie is in the garden, in a white dress coquettishly baring the shoulders. She is still a little girl far from adolescence but she wants to look like a star with her thick blond hair. She holds a candy cigarette as if she were to smoke it, and despite the confidence in her mother her gaze reveals that she doubts if her provocation is reasonable.
Sally Mann uses the focusing to add to the ambiance. Next to Jessie, her younger sister looks at the opposite side, completely losing interest in this scene that already escapes childhood.
In traditional photography, the child is viewed by a man or a woman who transfers to him an adult thought. Few artists are actually interested in expressing the true personality of a child. Diane Arbus succeeded by disturbing her young models. Sally Mann establishes a complicity which is an opposite to Diane.
Mrs Mann is not a conventional mum. By offering to her own children a freedom to make decisions for their own actions, she becomes an observer of their psychology and of their passage at puberty. They choose their plays, take off their clothes when it pleases them, and even are entitled to refuse the images that their mother made of them.
On October 15 in New York, Swann Auction Galleries sells Candy cigarette, lot 341 estimated $ 100K. This artist's proof 50 x 60 cm in black and white was printed in 1989 for an exhibition. The negative was earlier.
Jessie is in the garden, in a white dress coquettishly baring the shoulders. She is still a little girl far from adolescence but she wants to look like a star with her thick blond hair. She holds a candy cigarette as if she were to smoke it, and despite the confidence in her mother her gaze reveals that she doubts if her provocation is reasonable.
Sally Mann uses the focusing to add to the ambiance. Next to Jessie, her younger sister looks at the opposite side, completely losing interest in this scene that already escapes childhood.
1992 the passage of irving penn
2015 unsold
Irving Penn had fame in the 1950s as a photographer of fashion and personalities. He married Lisa, considered as the pioneer of the supermodels. At that time, black and white completely overcomes the photographic art, mostly because it enables subtle contrasts but also because the preservation of colors is yet questionable.
Three decades later, Penn is one of the very few masters of postwar photography to work in colors. He is aging and now observes the degradation of fruits and of everyday objects. Things in their greatest splendor no more appeal him, he prefers to make perfect pictures of their early degeneration.
The gingko is a small ornamental tree common in New York where its leaves turn the streets yellow in the fall. It is also a symbol of longevity and immortality, regarded as the oldest surviving tree species from geological time, with some specimens more than 1000 years old.
In 1990, Penn positions two gingko leaves head to tail, flat on a white surface. Since the time of his fashion photographs, the artist uses white or neutral backgrounds to avoid disturbing the viewer's attention away from the main theme. A leaf begins to turn yellow at the edges, the other is already drying.
This photo pleases Penn. On the following year, he chooses it as the cover image for his retrospective collection with a significant title : Passage. In 1992, the year when Lisa died, he printed this photo in 22 copies 58 x 48 cm. One of them was sold for € 343K including premium by Christie's on 1 July 2014. Another one is estimated $ 300K for sale by Christie's in New York on October 5, lot 34.
Three decades later, Penn is one of the very few masters of postwar photography to work in colors. He is aging and now observes the degradation of fruits and of everyday objects. Things in their greatest splendor no more appeal him, he prefers to make perfect pictures of their early degeneration.
The gingko is a small ornamental tree common in New York where its leaves turn the streets yellow in the fall. It is also a symbol of longevity and immortality, regarded as the oldest surviving tree species from geological time, with some specimens more than 1000 years old.
In 1990, Penn positions two gingko leaves head to tail, flat on a white surface. Since the time of his fashion photographs, the artist uses white or neutral backgrounds to avoid disturbing the viewer's attention away from the main theme. A leaf begins to turn yellow at the edges, the other is already drying.
This photo pleases Penn. On the following year, he chooses it as the cover image for his retrospective collection with a significant title : Passage. In 1992, the year when Lisa died, he printed this photo in 22 copies 58 x 48 cm. One of them was sold for € 343K including premium by Christie's on 1 July 2014. Another one is estimated $ 300K for sale by Christie's in New York on October 5, lot 34.
1992 EVERYDAY LIFE OF JEFF WALL IN VANCOUVER
2010 UNSOLD
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The Canadian press is always excited to announce objects and art in conjunction with their country, even when sales take place elsewhere. Let us be guided by the Vancouver Sun, it's worth the trip.
An article shared on their site is illustrated with a photograph for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11. The author, Jeff Wall, is also a theorist whose reputation began to cross borders. He loves the large size compositions evoking everyday life in Vancouver. But as you'll see below, this is not so simple.
First, this picture is a technical feat: a 119 x 164 cm transparency made in 1992, presented with its lightbox.
Then, the title is an apparent banality: "Adrian Walker, artist, drawing from a specimen in a laboratory in the Dept. Of Anatomy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver". Only the word Anatomy can attract our attention.
The so-named Walker, dressed like you and me, sitting in some laboratory office with his drawing board on his lap, is not interested in what happens around him. He does his work conscientiously, carefully ... observing the subject of his drawing, a cut human forearm placed in the middle of his table.
This subject both ordinary and bizarre is valued at $ 800K.
The Canadian press is always excited to announce objects and art in conjunction with their country, even when sales take place elsewhere. Let us be guided by the Vancouver Sun, it's worth the trip.
An article shared on their site is illustrated with a photograph for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11. The author, Jeff Wall, is also a theorist whose reputation began to cross borders. He loves the large size compositions evoking everyday life in Vancouver. But as you'll see below, this is not so simple.
First, this picture is a technical feat: a 119 x 164 cm transparency made in 1992, presented with its lightbox.
Then, the title is an apparent banality: "Adrian Walker, artist, drawing from a specimen in a laboratory in the Dept. Of Anatomy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver". Only the word Anatomy can attract our attention.
The so-named Walker, dressed like you and me, sitting in some laboratory office with his drawing board on his lap, is not interested in what happens around him. He does his work conscientiously, carefully ... observing the subject of his drawing, a cut human forearm placed in the middle of his table.
This subject both ordinary and bizarre is valued at $ 800K.
> 1992 the diary of Peter Beard
2018 SOLD for $ 600K including premium
The family of Peter Beard had made a fortune in railroad and tobacco. He chose a double career as a photographer, socialite in America and defender of endangered species in Kenya. In 1965 he published a photo book titled The End of the Game which is an activist shout against animal massacres.
His personal life is complicated. His third wife Nejma whom he married in 1986 has succeeded in managing his career while leaving free rein to his creativity. From 1992 Peter Beard brings together his fantasies in very large collages.
His mixed technique uses prints of his own photos beside disparate elements such as blood, feathers, snake skin, newspaper clippings and various everyday objects that make him a follower of Rauschenberg and exhibit the profusion of his mental process. The artwork usually includes long autograph texts at the periphery of the images.
The title Heart Attack City is used for several works. The image is constituted like a double open page of a giant diary. On the left the picture of a hilarious Marilyn Monroe is scarred with blood. On the right a large number of small abstract photos are aerial views of bones from an elephant massacre in 1972.
That diary is stuck on a background illustrated on all four sides with a similar abundance. An assemblage 129 x 217 cm overall made in 1998 was sold for £ 435K including premium by Christie's on May 20, 2016.
On April 9 in New York, Phillips sells a 140 x 217 cm work whose photographic contribution is dated 1972. The undated collage was made on a watercolor background made by his Kenyan team in a naive and rich iconography which brings to the whole an unexpected optimism. It is estimated $ 500K, lot 150. The wording 'visually omnivorous' used by the auction house to characterize the artist is well targeted.
His personal life is complicated. His third wife Nejma whom he married in 1986 has succeeded in managing his career while leaving free rein to his creativity. From 1992 Peter Beard brings together his fantasies in very large collages.
His mixed technique uses prints of his own photos beside disparate elements such as blood, feathers, snake skin, newspaper clippings and various everyday objects that make him a follower of Rauschenberg and exhibit the profusion of his mental process. The artwork usually includes long autograph texts at the periphery of the images.
The title Heart Attack City is used for several works. The image is constituted like a double open page of a giant diary. On the left the picture of a hilarious Marilyn Monroe is scarred with blood. On the right a large number of small abstract photos are aerial views of bones from an elephant massacre in 1972.
That diary is stuck on a background illustrated on all four sides with a similar abundance. An assemblage 129 x 217 cm overall made in 1998 was sold for £ 435K including premium by Christie's on May 20, 2016.
On April 9 in New York, Phillips sells a 140 x 217 cm work whose photographic contribution is dated 1972. The undated collage was made on a watercolor background made by his Kenyan team in a naive and rich iconography which brings to the whole an unexpected optimism. It is estimated $ 500K, lot 150. The wording 'visually omnivorous' used by the auction house to characterize the artist is well targeted.
1993 Girls and Bikes
2017 SOLD for £ 550K including premium
Resolutely anti-social, Richard Prince admires Kerouac and Pollock. With his methods of re-appropriation which shock the established conventions, he casts a sharp glance at the lifestyle of the American middle class.
His Marlboro cowboys are not just recuperations of ads from the magazines : they indeed illustrate the demise of ridiculous traditional values. He does not spare the young women. In his Girlfriends series the artist only uses images of girls associated with a motorcycle, with all the variety of his findings between risque and erotic in the press of the bad boys.
Unlike Bardot in 1968 on her Harley Davidson, Prince's Girlfriends do not challenge the men. The powerful and potentially vibrating machine compensates for the temporary absence of the boyfriend to whom the more or less undressed girl offers her unrestrained erotic desire.
In 1992 Richard Prince began publishing his cowboys in Cibachrome or Ektacolor color prints in very large size usually limited to two prints plus an artist's proof. A print 102 x 69 cm was sold for £ 780K including premium by Sotheby's on October 12, 2012.
The Girlfriends follow in 1993. A 150 x 102 cm Ektacolor showing a blonde woman bare breasted in sunlight and standing with the bike between her nude legs was sold for $ 830K including premium by Christie's on May 11, 2015.
On September 13 in London, Sotheby's sells an Ektacolor made in the same year, 114 x 167 cm including the artist's frame, lot 7 estimated £ 250K. The naked brunette, younger and more relaxed than many other girlfriends of the same series, is sprawled on the bike. Her expression of intimate expectation and her slightly messed hair make her friendly appealing, with a modernism of sexy composition that anticipates David LaChapelle.
His Marlboro cowboys are not just recuperations of ads from the magazines : they indeed illustrate the demise of ridiculous traditional values. He does not spare the young women. In his Girlfriends series the artist only uses images of girls associated with a motorcycle, with all the variety of his findings between risque and erotic in the press of the bad boys.
Unlike Bardot in 1968 on her Harley Davidson, Prince's Girlfriends do not challenge the men. The powerful and potentially vibrating machine compensates for the temporary absence of the boyfriend to whom the more or less undressed girl offers her unrestrained erotic desire.
In 1992 Richard Prince began publishing his cowboys in Cibachrome or Ektacolor color prints in very large size usually limited to two prints plus an artist's proof. A print 102 x 69 cm was sold for £ 780K including premium by Sotheby's on October 12, 2012.
The Girlfriends follow in 1993. A 150 x 102 cm Ektacolor showing a blonde woman bare breasted in sunlight and standing with the bike between her nude legs was sold for $ 830K including premium by Christie's on May 11, 2015.
On September 13 in London, Sotheby's sells an Ektacolor made in the same year, 114 x 167 cm including the artist's frame, lot 7 estimated £ 250K. The naked brunette, younger and more relaxed than many other girlfriends of the same series, is sprawled on the bike. Her expression of intimate expectation and her slightly messed hair make her friendly appealing, with a modernism of sexy composition that anticipates David LaChapelle.
1995 Interview of Keith Haring by Annie Leibovitz
2008 SOLD 19 K$ including premium
PRE SALE COMMENT
It is one of the strangest portraits of contemporary art. In 1986, Annie Leibovitz, 37 years old, photographed Keith Haring, 28 years. This meeting between two major young protagonists of contemporary art was original and friendly. The artist is made up in a full Superman-like skin, with a pattern of sinuous lines that camouflage him entirely over the wall of his studio illustrated with the same pattern.
Insist looking at the photo and you see the head and then the body. Haring, in a leaping position with forward torso, open arms and legs, looked straight into the camera of Leibovitz.
Lot 222 of the sale of Sotheby's in New York on October 15 is a large print (50 x 60 cm) that can reach for that reason an interesting price, but it is a recent issue (1995). It is estimated 30 K$. It is a platinum print from an edition of 30 copies.
In 2005 and 2006, Christie's sold successively around 30 K£ two platinum prints of dimensions similar to the Sotheby's detailed here. The date of the issue has not been provided. At 20 K$ including expenses, on 16 October 2007, Sotheby's sold a cibachrome 24 x 30 cm print.
It is one of the strangest portraits of contemporary art. In 1986, Annie Leibovitz, 37 years old, photographed Keith Haring, 28 years. This meeting between two major young protagonists of contemporary art was original and friendly. The artist is made up in a full Superman-like skin, with a pattern of sinuous lines that camouflage him entirely over the wall of his studio illustrated with the same pattern.
Insist looking at the photo and you see the head and then the body. Haring, in a leaping position with forward torso, open arms and legs, looked straight into the camera of Leibovitz.
Lot 222 of the sale of Sotheby's in New York on October 15 is a large print (50 x 60 cm) that can reach for that reason an interesting price, but it is a recent issue (1995). It is estimated 30 K$. It is a platinum print from an edition of 30 copies.
In 2005 and 2006, Christie's sold successively around 30 K£ two platinum prints of dimensions similar to the Sotheby's detailed here. The date of the issue has not been provided. At 20 K$ including expenses, on 16 October 2007, Sotheby's sold a cibachrome 24 x 30 cm print.
1998 Thomas Struth between Past and Present
2017 SOLD for $ 460k including premium
The approach of Bernd and Hilla Becher is new in modern photography. In an industrial world that has no reason to be preserved they photograph the threatened factories.
Wanting a distortless reproduction of what they see, they use lenses of very long focal length with a large size Linhof camera. The buildings and installations perfectly centered in a rigorously frontal viewing form a collection in which the geometric shapes become remarkably repetitive, demonstrating an unwanted architectural standardization linked to functionality.
The Bechers' black and white work is recognized as one of the most important photographic recordings of current world. Bernd was appointed professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1976.
Thomas Struth retained from the Bechers' teaching the centered architecture, frontal and without deformation. He adds the color, the very large format and the interior views of museums or churches. His purpose is not documentary. He confronts the stereotypical attitude of anonymous passers-by with regard to monuments and works of art belonging to a bygone culture. His clash between past and present is nostalgic as well as sociological.
In 1991 he publishes in ten 184 x 238 cm chromogenic prints a photograph showing the majestic interior of the Pantheon of Rome, occupied at the center by an agglomerated group of tourists. One of them was sold for $ 1,8M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
In 1998 his view of the dome of Milan is printed in the same quantity and technique in a similar format, 183 x 230 cm. The facade is straight and centered, with no horizon. On the steps and courtyard ordinary people pass or stroll, interested or indifferent in front of this towering religious monument from the old time.
The serial number 1/10 of the Milan view was sold for £ 410K including premium by Christie's on October 14, 2007. The 7/10 is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on September 28, lot 23estimated $ 300K.
Wanting a distortless reproduction of what they see, they use lenses of very long focal length with a large size Linhof camera. The buildings and installations perfectly centered in a rigorously frontal viewing form a collection in which the geometric shapes become remarkably repetitive, demonstrating an unwanted architectural standardization linked to functionality.
The Bechers' black and white work is recognized as one of the most important photographic recordings of current world. Bernd was appointed professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1976.
Thomas Struth retained from the Bechers' teaching the centered architecture, frontal and without deformation. He adds the color, the very large format and the interior views of museums or churches. His purpose is not documentary. He confronts the stereotypical attitude of anonymous passers-by with regard to monuments and works of art belonging to a bygone culture. His clash between past and present is nostalgic as well as sociological.
In 1991 he publishes in ten 184 x 238 cm chromogenic prints a photograph showing the majestic interior of the Pantheon of Rome, occupied at the center by an agglomerated group of tourists. One of them was sold for $ 1,8M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
In 1998 his view of the dome of Milan is printed in the same quantity and technique in a similar format, 183 x 230 cm. The facade is straight and centered, with no horizon. On the steps and courtyard ordinary people pass or stroll, interested or indifferent in front of this towering religious monument from the old time.
The serial number 1/10 of the Milan view was sold for £ 410K including premium by Christie's on October 14, 2007. The 7/10 is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on September 28, lot 23estimated $ 300K.
2000 Cowboy by Prince
2016 SOLD for $ 3.5M by Christie's
Around 1981, Richard Prince sees the Marlboro Man in all magazines. The cowboy wandering with cattle in the endless deserts of the Wild West was a good choice for an advertising campaign as the mirror of a romantic American masculinity enhanced by the Hollywood glamor.
When Marlboro give up this decade long advertisement campaign due to the antismoking virulence, Prince goes on. In 1992 he begins publishing his cowboys in Cibachrome or Ektacolor color prints in very large size usually limited to two prints plus an artist's proof. Around 2000 the preparation of the images by digital techniques enables new artistic possibilities.
Prince appropriates the best color photographs of cowboys, whether or not already used by Marlboro. What matters is to display the beautiful picture of a typical cowboy with his Stetson, vest and spurs.
When the characters and their horses are busy in their signature occupations, the image is highly appealing. A composite group of five silhouettes preparing their day in the shadow of a bright orange sunrise has become such a popular image.
This Untitled (Cowboy) was edited in 2000 in two copies and one artist's proof in Ektacolor 122 x 195 cm. The artist's proof was sold by Christie's on May 10, 2016 for $ 3.5M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M, lot 57 B.
The Ektacolor print numbered 1/2 was sold by Sotheby's on May 13, 2014 for $ 3.1M from a lower estimate of $ 1M, lot 3.
When Marlboro give up this decade long advertisement campaign due to the antismoking virulence, Prince goes on. In 1992 he begins publishing his cowboys in Cibachrome or Ektacolor color prints in very large size usually limited to two prints plus an artist's proof. Around 2000 the preparation of the images by digital techniques enables new artistic possibilities.
Prince appropriates the best color photographs of cowboys, whether or not already used by Marlboro. What matters is to display the beautiful picture of a typical cowboy with his Stetson, vest and spurs.
When the characters and their horses are busy in their signature occupations, the image is highly appealing. A composite group of five silhouettes preparing their day in the shadow of a bright orange sunrise has become such a popular image.
This Untitled (Cowboy) was edited in 2000 in two copies and one artist's proof in Ektacolor 122 x 195 cm. The artist's proof was sold by Christie's on May 10, 2016 for $ 3.5M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M, lot 57 B.
The Ektacolor print numbered 1/2 was sold by Sotheby's on May 13, 2014 for $ 3.1M from a lower estimate of $ 1M, lot 3.
2000 Inside the Grand Hotel
2015 SOLD for £ 1.1M including premium
Architecture had inspired Andreas Gursky from his beginnings. Increasingly massive structures reduce mankind to dwarfism.
'Shanghai' is a photograph made in 2000. The copy 4/6 in c-print on Plexiglas 302 x 207 cm in an artist's frame was sold for £ 290K including premium by Sotheby's in London on 25 June 2009. It is listed again in the same auction room on July 1, lot 49 estimated £ 400K.
The artwork expresses the atmosphere of a new international hotel. The features are generally similar from one hotel to another in the same group for not disturbing the customers, but the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Shanghai is remarkable in its excess: it fills the upper 36 floors in a tower which totals 88.
The hollow atrium is the subject of this image, in a composition of perfect symmetry. It provides a vertical view of an immensity that can be compared with the Rhein realized by the artist in landscape format in 1996 and 1999.
The impression of perspective, which is perfect, is in fact the result of the rigorous geometric assembly of many elementary photographs taken from different levels. Some characters scattered between various floors are crushed by the grandeur created to serve them.
'Shanghai' is a photograph made in 2000. The copy 4/6 in c-print on Plexiglas 302 x 207 cm in an artist's frame was sold for £ 290K including premium by Sotheby's in London on 25 June 2009. It is listed again in the same auction room on July 1, lot 49 estimated £ 400K.
The artwork expresses the atmosphere of a new international hotel. The features are generally similar from one hotel to another in the same group for not disturbing the customers, but the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Shanghai is remarkable in its excess: it fills the upper 36 floors in a tower which totals 88.
The hollow atrium is the subject of this image, in a composition of perfect symmetry. It provides a vertical view of an immensity that can be compared with the Rhein realized by the artist in landscape format in 1996 and 1999.
The impression of perspective, which is perfect, is in fact the result of the rigorous geometric assembly of many elementary photographs taken from different levels. Some characters scattered between various floors are crushed by the grandeur created to serve them.
2000 A Crowd from Bird's Eye
2017 SOLD for £ 760K including premium
On October 3 in London, Christie's sells May Day IV, a chromogenic photo made in 2000 by Andreas Gursky, lot 7estimated £ 500K. Its monumental size, 152 x 457 cm for the image and 208 x 508 cm overall, exceeds the Rhein II made in the previous year.
Its theme is an unlimited crowd from bird's eye. It precedes the Madonna I of September 2001 with the difference that May Day IV is not really staged in a discernable event. A copy of Madonna I was sold for £ 1.08M including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2010.
In terms of artistic style May Day IV may be directly compared with the Los Angeles of 1998 with a sharpness that enables a fully different impression from global to detail. The crowd extending beyond the four sides of the picture brings from far away a Pollock-like vision. In close up view these young people excited in a musical show are all different from each other.
This photo numbered 2/6 previously passed at Christie's on June 27, 2012.
Its theme is an unlimited crowd from bird's eye. It precedes the Madonna I of September 2001 with the difference that May Day IV is not really staged in a discernable event. A copy of Madonna I was sold for £ 1.08M including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2010.
In terms of artistic style May Day IV may be directly compared with the Los Angeles of 1998 with a sharpness that enables a fully different impression from global to detail. The crowd extending beyond the four sides of the picture brings from far away a Pollock-like vision. In close up view these young people excited in a musical show are all different from each other.
This photo numbered 2/6 previously passed at Christie's on June 27, 2012.
2001 Marlboro Man by Richard Prince
2007 SOLD 3.4 M$ by Sotheby's
Richard Prince's prints in large format raises the former Marlboro Man to the level of an art theme, with the encouragement and support of the brand. The close up silhouette of a man of the West seated on a fence with boots and hat with a glowing background has become the quintessential example..
This Untitled (Cowboy) was edited in two copies and one artist's proof in Ektachrome 254 x 170 cm. The artist's proof, dated 2001-2002, was sold by Sotheby's on November 14, 2007 for $ 3.4M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M, lot 6. The print 1/2, dated 2001, was sold by Christie's on May 16, 2007, for $ 2.8M from a lower estimate of $ 700K, lot 71.
The same image was edited in two copies in Colour coupler print 60 x 40 cm, also in 2001. The number 1/2 was sold twice by Sotheby's, for $ 300K on May 15, 2008, lot 479, and for HK $ 2.25M on July 9, 2020, lot 1115.
This Untitled (Cowboy) was edited in two copies and one artist's proof in Ektachrome 254 x 170 cm. The artist's proof, dated 2001-2002, was sold by Sotheby's on November 14, 2007 for $ 3.4M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M, lot 6. The print 1/2, dated 2001, was sold by Christie's on May 16, 2007, for $ 2.8M from a lower estimate of $ 700K, lot 71.
The same image was edited in two copies in Colour coupler print 60 x 40 cm, also in 2001. The number 1/2 was sold twice by Sotheby's, for $ 300K on May 15, 2008, lot 479, and for HK $ 2.25M on July 9, 2020, lot 1115.
2001 The Celestial Madonna of Andreas Gursky
2010 SOLD 1.08 M£ including premium
Nobody has forgotten what happened in New York on September 11, 2001. In Los Angeles the same day, Madonna's concert was canceled. It takes place two days later. The singer wears around her waist the stars and stripes of the U.S. flag.
Andreas Gursky takes pictures, and constructs a masterpiece of the new art: digital photography. "Madonna I" is printed in cibachrome in six copies plus two artist's proofs.
As always with Gursky, the monumental dimensions, 282 x 207 cm, do not prevent the very precise details of the image.
The singer faces the immensity. Small (about 12 cm) and excentred, but well standing on a spot light, she dominates the image. In front of her in the semi-darkness of the hall, the audience in singing, their arms raised. Further away from the stage, the crowd is getting confused into a starry sky.
Sotheby's sells on February 10 in London an artist proof dedicated to Madonna, which the singer had kept during some years. It is estimated £ 900 K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, but remaining very close to the estimate. I hoped that this encounter between Gursky and the show business should be more profitable. This photo has been sold £ 1.08 million including premium.
Andreas Gursky takes pictures, and constructs a masterpiece of the new art: digital photography. "Madonna I" is printed in cibachrome in six copies plus two artist's proofs.
As always with Gursky, the monumental dimensions, 282 x 207 cm, do not prevent the very precise details of the image.
The singer faces the immensity. Small (about 12 cm) and excentred, but well standing on a spot light, she dominates the image. In front of her in the semi-darkness of the hall, the audience in singing, their arms raised. Further away from the stage, the crowd is getting confused into a starry sky.
Sotheby's sells on February 10 in London an artist proof dedicated to Madonna, which the singer had kept during some years. It is estimated £ 900 K.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, but remaining very close to the estimate. I hoped that this encounter between Gursky and the show business should be more profitable. This photo has been sold £ 1.08 million including premium.
2001 The Muslim Lyricism of Shirin Neshat
2014 SOLD for $ 270K including premium
Born in Iran to a Westernized family, Shirin Neshat was studying art in Los Angeles at the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. She was 22 years old. After returning to Iran in 1990, she endeavored to express the lasting dignity of Muslim women despite the change of manners that could be considered as a regression.
Her series Women of Allah, from 1993 to 1997, includes some masterpieces of modern Muslim photography. In 1998, she begings to produce video installations with two or three screens.
The video titled Passage made in 2001 with a music by Philip Glass is not an installation because it is limited to a single projection.
With a great formal beauty, the artist shows three groups which eventually converge into a funeral ceremony in the desert landscape of Morocco : men wear the shroud, women in chadors dig the hole and a child is piling stones to erect a monument .
Passage was edited in six copies on DVD format. One of them with its VHS tape is estimated USD 200K for sale by Sotheby's in Doha on October 13, lot 6.
Her series Women of Allah, from 1993 to 1997, includes some masterpieces of modern Muslim photography. In 1998, she begings to produce video installations with two or three screens.
The video titled Passage made in 2001 with a music by Philip Glass is not an installation because it is limited to a single projection.
With a great formal beauty, the artist shows three groups which eventually converge into a funeral ceremony in the desert landscape of Morocco : men wear the shroud, women in chadors dig the hole and a child is piling stones to erect a monument .
Passage was edited in six copies on DVD format. One of them with its VHS tape is estimated USD 200K for sale by Sotheby's in Doha on October 13, lot 6.
2002 The Heavy Lid of Marilyn Minter
2010 SOLD 47.5 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In this age when photography is everywhere, the only images that can distinguish over the whole are those color prints of very large size which express the life of today. The catalogs of Phillips de Pury are a good entry for the knowledge of the most current art. Let them guide our choices.
The press release from the sale of New York on March 6 qualifies as "decadent" a photograph by Marilyn Minter. I would rather use the term punk, with a restriction on the recent date of work, 2002, a time when many followers of this style had certainly already become honorable fathers and mothers.
Minter is not a portraitist: she focuses in close up details of the body, with a preference for the eyelid, mouth and toes.Here, it is a closed lid with heavy make-up, the wet or greased lashes being grouped in triangles. Small round lights are placed on the lid, justifying the title (Sparks) but we can not distinguish whether these artifacts are from the model or from the camera or image processing . See the illustration of this lot in the catalog shared by the web hosting provider LiveAuctioneers.
This C-print, 127 x 91 cm, is estimated $ 15K. On November 12, 2008, a very similar work titled Splattered, bigger (183 x 122 cm) but made in the same year was sold 122 K $ including premium at Sotheby's. This was not a photograph but a painting in enamel on aluminum. This is a good opportunity to compare painting and photography from an artist who practices both techniques.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photo doubled its estimate: hammer price $ 38 K, result including premium 47.5 K $.
In this age when photography is everywhere, the only images that can distinguish over the whole are those color prints of very large size which express the life of today. The catalogs of Phillips de Pury are a good entry for the knowledge of the most current art. Let them guide our choices.
The press release from the sale of New York on March 6 qualifies as "decadent" a photograph by Marilyn Minter. I would rather use the term punk, with a restriction on the recent date of work, 2002, a time when many followers of this style had certainly already become honorable fathers and mothers.
Minter is not a portraitist: she focuses in close up details of the body, with a preference for the eyelid, mouth and toes.Here, it is a closed lid with heavy make-up, the wet or greased lashes being grouped in triangles. Small round lights are placed on the lid, justifying the title (Sparks) but we can not distinguish whether these artifacts are from the model or from the camera or image processing . See the illustration of this lot in the catalog shared by the web hosting provider LiveAuctioneers.
This C-print, 127 x 91 cm, is estimated $ 15K. On November 12, 2008, a very similar work titled Splattered, bigger (183 x 122 cm) but made in the same year was sold 122 K $ including premium at Sotheby's. This was not a photograph but a painting in enamel on aluminum. This is a good opportunity to compare painting and photography from an artist who practices both techniques.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photo doubled its estimate: hammer price $ 38 K, result including premium 47.5 K $.
2004 The Last Fall of the Han
2016 SOLD for HK$ 4.9M including premium
Ai Weiwei came back to China in 1993 after his design training in New York where he met Allen Ginsberg, the leading figure of the Beat counterculture. Deeply disappointed by the social policy of the Chinese government, he soon became an activist.
Ai exploits the idea of the readymade that he had learned in the USA, with an iconoclastic alternative that brings another reflection on the meaning of culture. He misappropriates antique Han vases dating from 2000 years earlier in order to paint them in modern bright colors.
In a dramatic gesture that is somehow a happening, Ai realizes in 1995 a sequence of three photographs in which he complacently raises, drops and lets break a large Han urn. He shows by this action that culture itself, not just the artifact, is fragile. The end of Maoism was not enough to restore the balance and the artist protests against corruption.
The subsequent fame of Ai Weiwei as an activist will later highlight the provocative power of the breaking of the Han urn. In 2014 in an exhibition in Miami 16 colored vases are displayed on a table in front of a copy of the photographic triptych. Another artist grabs a vase and realizes in his turn the destructive act.
The set Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn was edited in 2004 in 8 copies, 136 x 109 cm for each element of the triptych. One of the eight sets was sold for £ 750K including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2016 over a lower estimate of £ 150K. Another set is estimated HK $ 1.6M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 2, lot 1067.
Ai exploits the idea of the readymade that he had learned in the USA, with an iconoclastic alternative that brings another reflection on the meaning of culture. He misappropriates antique Han vases dating from 2000 years earlier in order to paint them in modern bright colors.
In a dramatic gesture that is somehow a happening, Ai realizes in 1995 a sequence of three photographs in which he complacently raises, drops and lets break a large Han urn. He shows by this action that culture itself, not just the artifact, is fragile. The end of Maoism was not enough to restore the balance and the artist protests against corruption.
The subsequent fame of Ai Weiwei as an activist will later highlight the provocative power of the breaking of the Han urn. In 2014 in an exhibition in Miami 16 colored vases are displayed on a table in front of a copy of the photographic triptych. Another artist grabs a vase and realizes in his turn the destructive act.
The set Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn was edited in 2004 in 8 copies, 136 x 109 cm for each element of the triptych. One of the eight sets was sold for £ 750K including premium by Sotheby's on February 10, 2016 over a lower estimate of £ 150K. Another set is estimated HK $ 1.6M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 2, lot 1067.
2004 thomas struth in south american churches
2015 unsold
PRE 2015 SALE DISCUSSION
On November 11, 2014, two photos by Thomas Struth went unsold at Bonhams :
Lot 42 was the Iglesia de San Francisco in Lima, 178 x 234 cm, edited in 2003.
Lot 43 was the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Pilar in Ouro Preto, 170 x 217 cm, edited in 2004. This one is listed again by the same auction house for sale in London on February 12, lot 34 estimated £ 150K.
Here is below how I introduced a few months ago this recent series of photos :
Thomas Struth questions the positioning of today's people in a surrounding made in the past. His photos of very large size without loss of focusing or error of perspective are usually edited in ten copies and mounted on Plexiglas.
His most famous series show visitors in museums or places of worship. A view of a group of tourists in the Pantheon of Rome, made in 1990 and published in 1992, 188 x 241 cm, was sold for £ 820K including premium by Sotheby's on June 26, 2013.
Struth observes the faithful in churches around the world. at rest or during ceremonies. A view of San Zaccaria in Venice in 1995 was sold for £ 700K including premium at Christie's on October 18, 2013.
More recent, his series on South American churches perfectly illustrates his message. The people of today come to pray in grandiose and overly ornate cathedrals which are reminiscent of the colonial era.
On November 11, 2014, two photos by Thomas Struth went unsold at Bonhams :
Lot 42 was the Iglesia de San Francisco in Lima, 178 x 234 cm, edited in 2003.
Lot 43 was the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Pilar in Ouro Preto, 170 x 217 cm, edited in 2004. This one is listed again by the same auction house for sale in London on February 12, lot 34 estimated £ 150K.
Here is below how I introduced a few months ago this recent series of photos :
Thomas Struth questions the positioning of today's people in a surrounding made in the past. His photos of very large size without loss of focusing or error of perspective are usually edited in ten copies and mounted on Plexiglas.
His most famous series show visitors in museums or places of worship. A view of a group of tourists in the Pantheon of Rome, made in 1990 and published in 1992, 188 x 241 cm, was sold for £ 820K including premium by Sotheby's on June 26, 2013.
Struth observes the faithful in churches around the world. at rest or during ceremonies. A view of San Zaccaria in Venice in 1995 was sold for £ 700K including premium at Christie's on October 18, 2013.
More recent, his series on South American churches perfectly illustrates his message. The people of today come to pray in grandiose and overly ornate cathedrals which are reminiscent of the colonial era.
2005 spiritual AMERICA viewed by RICHARD PRINCE
2014 UNSOLD
One of the two artist's proofs of a photo of Brooke Shields appropriated by Richard Prince went unsold at Phillips de Pury on June 29, 2009. This photo is now estimated $ 400K, for sale by Christie's in New York on November 13, lot 522.
I paste below my 2009 discussion :
We have already discussed Richard Prince about his series of Nurses. The artist, working with reprographic printing processes, produces works of great size inspired by covers of cheap books showing nurses.
In photography, he is best known at auction for his series of Cowboys, also in very large formats, which divert publicity imaging.
We have now for the first time at auction a print, 237 x 190 cm, from the series Spiritual America, title of an exhibition he had made in New York in 2007. This print made two years earlier resulted from a collaboration with the photographer Sante D'Orazio and marked a new visit of the character of Brooke Shields by Prince.
We remember that Brooke made scandal in movies when playing the role of a child living in a brothel in Louis Malle's film "Pretty Baby" in 1978. In 1983, Prince held his own success when fraudulently diverting a publicity photograph on which Brooke was naked. He lost the case made against him by the actual photographer.
On the Spiritual America IV that comes at auction, the actress, 40 years old in 2005, is standing, wearing a string bikini, her feet hidden by a white fog of nitrogen according to the fashion of stage photos of rock and roll.
I paste below my 2009 discussion :
We have already discussed Richard Prince about his series of Nurses. The artist, working with reprographic printing processes, produces works of great size inspired by covers of cheap books showing nurses.
In photography, he is best known at auction for his series of Cowboys, also in very large formats, which divert publicity imaging.
We have now for the first time at auction a print, 237 x 190 cm, from the series Spiritual America, title of an exhibition he had made in New York in 2007. This print made two years earlier resulted from a collaboration with the photographer Sante D'Orazio and marked a new visit of the character of Brooke Shields by Prince.
We remember that Brooke made scandal in movies when playing the role of a child living in a brothel in Louis Malle's film "Pretty Baby" in 1978. In 1983, Prince held his own success when fraudulently diverting a publicity photograph on which Brooke was naked. He lost the case made against him by the actual photographer.
On the Spiritual America IV that comes at auction, the actress, 40 years old in 2005, is standing, wearing a string bikini, her feet hidden by a white fog of nitrogen according to the fashion of stage photos of rock and roll.
2007 Dreaming Dubai with Gursky
2009 SOLD 450 K£ including premium
Dubai! In recent years, this place has become the symbol of the new Eldorado, the country of gold. The camera of Andreas Gursky was actioned at the right time, in 2007. The already famous islands are located, but none is yet equipped with its building.
The result observed by helicopter is a strange abstract photo. Islands, all similar, all bare, are scattered up to a horizon that is not visible due to the blue melting of sky and sea.
A Cibachrome, from a print of six, 307 x 223 cm, is sold by Sotheby's in London on June 25. It is estimated £ 400 K. It's just for an image that can become an icon of our time.
The market for art photography has something in common with other techniques: it is plebisciting the gigantism. But it also has a significant difference, in my view the most recent works find more easily a buyer (when they are of high quality).
A look in the archives of Sotheby's reminds us Los Angeles, a 1998 Cibachrome, 157 x 316 cm, sold £ 1.5 million inclusive on 27 February 2008. This is a view at night. The sky as black as the soil is separated by the horizon of skyscraper lights.
POST SALE COMMENT
Result without passion: K £ 450 inclusive. At this time, the art market is not easy to excite.
The result observed by helicopter is a strange abstract photo. Islands, all similar, all bare, are scattered up to a horizon that is not visible due to the blue melting of sky and sea.
A Cibachrome, from a print of six, 307 x 223 cm, is sold by Sotheby's in London on June 25. It is estimated £ 400 K. It's just for an image that can become an icon of our time.
The market for art photography has something in common with other techniques: it is plebisciting the gigantism. But it also has a significant difference, in my view the most recent works find more easily a buyer (when they are of high quality).
A look in the archives of Sotheby's reminds us Los Angeles, a 1998 Cibachrome, 157 x 316 cm, sold £ 1.5 million inclusive on 27 February 2008. This is a view at night. The sky as black as the soil is separated by the horizon of skyscraper lights.
POST SALE COMMENT
Result without passion: K £ 450 inclusive. At this time, the art market is not easy to excite.
2007 the mass games
2018 withdrawn
The Arirang Mass Games are held regularly in Pyongyang to exalt the North Korean patriotism. It is altogether collectivist and popular : the performers are also the spectators and each participant had rehearsed during months the gestures to be executed for being totally integrated within the mass. There can be nothing similar. Nowhere.
On the ground tens of thousands of gymnasts coordinate their rapid movements to build moving figures of great geometric simplicity and beauty. In the steps tens of thousands of spectators or children wave colored cards, constituting in turn the various visual symbols of the North Korean regime.
These people do not have an individual existence. In terms of chemistry they are the atoms of a single material. In terms of prints they are the dots of the image. In the Arirang videos it is impossible to discern a specific feature of a dancer, neither in gesture nor in costume. There is no visible leader in their perfect choreography.
In 2007 Andreas Gursky attends the opening ceremony of Arirang. His technique of reconstructing a global image from photographs successively focused on the various distances offers a total and undistorted sharpness from foreground to background.
Gursky executed five opus on Arirang. Among them Pyongyang II is a diptych showing a military movement with in the background the symbol of birds on one view and of a gun on the other. One of these diptychs was sold for £ 830K including premium by Christie's on February 14, 2012.
Pyongyang I, III, IV and V are single views on gymnastic figures or mass effects. A Pyongyang IV 304 x 205 cm was sold for £ 1.33M including premium by Sotheby's on October 15, 2010. A Pyongyang V 307 x 219 cm was sold for £ 1.08M including premium on June 30, 2014 also by Sotheby's.
Pyongyang III is the only single panoramic view, 206 x 422 cm. In a phase when the background is inactive, it offers a composition in horizontal stripes that from afar looks like the masterpiece of the artist, the Rhein II of 1999. A copy is estimated $ 600K for sale by Christie's in New York on March 1, lot 271.
On the ground tens of thousands of gymnasts coordinate their rapid movements to build moving figures of great geometric simplicity and beauty. In the steps tens of thousands of spectators or children wave colored cards, constituting in turn the various visual symbols of the North Korean regime.
These people do not have an individual existence. In terms of chemistry they are the atoms of a single material. In terms of prints they are the dots of the image. In the Arirang videos it is impossible to discern a specific feature of a dancer, neither in gesture nor in costume. There is no visible leader in their perfect choreography.
In 2007 Andreas Gursky attends the opening ceremony of Arirang. His technique of reconstructing a global image from photographs successively focused on the various distances offers a total and undistorted sharpness from foreground to background.
Gursky executed five opus on Arirang. Among them Pyongyang II is a diptych showing a military movement with in the background the symbol of birds on one view and of a gun on the other. One of these diptychs was sold for £ 830K including premium by Christie's on February 14, 2012.
Pyongyang I, III, IV and V are single views on gymnastic figures or mass effects. A Pyongyang IV 304 x 205 cm was sold for £ 1.33M including premium by Sotheby's on October 15, 2010. A Pyongyang V 307 x 219 cm was sold for £ 1.08M including premium on June 30, 2014 also by Sotheby's.
Pyongyang III is the only single panoramic view, 206 x 422 cm. In a phase when the background is inactive, it offers a composition in horizontal stripes that from afar looks like the masterpiece of the artist, the Rhein II of 1999. A copy is estimated $ 600K for sale by Christie's in New York on March 1, lot 271.
2008 Veils and carpets
2009 SOLD 175 K£ including premium
2019 withdrawn
PRE 2019 SALE DISCUSSION
The Pakistani artist Rashid Rana made a breakthrough in 2007 with two series of photographs. He created therein a disturbing social message by a full opposition of subjects between the global view and its pattern of microphotographic elements.
'Veil' confronts the condition of women in East and West. It shows a group of fully veiled women wearing chador, hijab and niqab while the detail is a pattern of Western pornographic images. The series 'Red carpet' extended in 2008 confronts a rug with its pattern of tiny pictures of dead goats. Red is the color of blood.
The photos were published in editions of 5 as Diasec mounted chromogenic prints. The examples that early hit the auction block highly exceeded their estimates.
A copy of Red Carpet 1, 220 x 295 cm, was sold for $ 620K including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2008. A copy of Veil 6, 130 x 178 cm, was sold for £ 325K including premium on July 2, 2008, also by Sotheby's.
A copy of Red Carpet 4, 206 x 305 cm, was sold for £ 175K including premium by Christie's on June 10, 2009. It is estimated £ 120K for sale by Christie's in London on June 11, lot 69. I introduced the Red Carpets as follows before the 2009 sale :
At the dawn of our new century, the creative act is often political. Rashid Rana is the author of a computer aided surprise photomontage. The artist revealed the sequence of events of the tragic day that triggered his inspiration.
2007 is a terrible year in Pakistan. Preparations for the elections, a source of hope, is alternating with attacks. On October 18, Benazir Bhutto returns to Karachi after eight years in exile. She is greeted by a jubilant crowd.
Rana goes to his work, highly emotional on that day : a photographic report in a slaughterhouse for goats. His sensitivity is gradually increased in front of the accumulation of corpses. Back home, he is informed that an attack against Bhutto left 140 dead.
Red Carpet 4 shows a classic Oriental rug in real size. Observed from close, the image is actually composed of a repetitive pattern of hundreds of goats. This artwork offers a striking contrast of meaning between the banality of death and the luxury.of the carpet.
The Pakistani artist Rashid Rana made a breakthrough in 2007 with two series of photographs. He created therein a disturbing social message by a full opposition of subjects between the global view and its pattern of microphotographic elements.
'Veil' confronts the condition of women in East and West. It shows a group of fully veiled women wearing chador, hijab and niqab while the detail is a pattern of Western pornographic images. The series 'Red carpet' extended in 2008 confronts a rug with its pattern of tiny pictures of dead goats. Red is the color of blood.
The photos were published in editions of 5 as Diasec mounted chromogenic prints. The examples that early hit the auction block highly exceeded their estimates.
A copy of Red Carpet 1, 220 x 295 cm, was sold for $ 620K including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2008. A copy of Veil 6, 130 x 178 cm, was sold for £ 325K including premium on July 2, 2008, also by Sotheby's.
A copy of Red Carpet 4, 206 x 305 cm, was sold for £ 175K including premium by Christie's on June 10, 2009. It is estimated £ 120K for sale by Christie's in London on June 11, lot 69. I introduced the Red Carpets as follows before the 2009 sale :
At the dawn of our new century, the creative act is often political. Rashid Rana is the author of a computer aided surprise photomontage. The artist revealed the sequence of events of the tragic day that triggered his inspiration.
2007 is a terrible year in Pakistan. Preparations for the elections, a source of hope, is alternating with attacks. On October 18, Benazir Bhutto returns to Karachi after eight years in exile. She is greeted by a jubilant crowd.
Rana goes to his work, highly emotional on that day : a photographic report in a slaughterhouse for goats. His sensitivity is gradually increased in front of the accumulation of corpses. Back home, he is informed that an attack against Bhutto left 140 dead.
Red Carpet 4 shows a classic Oriental rug in real size. Observed from close, the image is actually composed of a repetitive pattern of hundreds of goats. This artwork offers a striking contrast of meaning between the banality of death and the luxury.of the carpet.
2012 New Visit to the Red Room
2012 SOLD 580 K$ including premium
The photograph Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973, is a masterpiece of William Eggleston. The dye transfer technique enabled him to get a highly saturated red on the walls and ceiling of an empty room illuminated by a single light bulb.
I discussed in this group an original print, 31 x 47 cm, sold $ 158K including premium at Christie's on October 8, 2009. I told then that only the dye transfer had met the artist request for the wet blood color that dominates this work.
Our age is no longer satisfied with small sizes. On March 12 in New York, Christie's sells a 112 x 152 cm print from a new edition of two. The technique used is the pigment print. The sale is made to the benefit of the Eggleston Artistic Trust. It is estimated $ 150K. Here is the link to the catalog.
In the same sale, the highest estimate, $ 200K, is on another photo of the same size and same technique, also from an edition of two. Its subject is the tricycle of Memphis, an image created in 1970. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's had warned! The large size enables to rediscover the work of Eggleston in a different way!
The sale fetched $ 5.9 million in 36 lots.
As expected by the auction house, the Memphis tricycle got the best result: $ 580K. The red room was sold for $ 390K.
These prices include premium.
I discussed in this group an original print, 31 x 47 cm, sold $ 158K including premium at Christie's on October 8, 2009. I told then that only the dye transfer had met the artist request for the wet blood color that dominates this work.
Our age is no longer satisfied with small sizes. On March 12 in New York, Christie's sells a 112 x 152 cm print from a new edition of two. The technique used is the pigment print. The sale is made to the benefit of the Eggleston Artistic Trust. It is estimated $ 150K. Here is the link to the catalog.
In the same sale, the highest estimate, $ 200K, is on another photo of the same size and same technique, also from an edition of two. Its subject is the tricycle of Memphis, an image created in 1970. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's had warned! The large size enables to rediscover the work of Eggleston in a different way!
The sale fetched $ 5.9 million in 36 lots.
As expected by the auction house, the Memphis tricycle got the best result: $ 580K. The red room was sold for $ 390K.
These prices include premium.
Richard Prince appropriated for Wildlife
2013 SOLD 1.26 M$ including premium
The specialty of Richard Prince is appropriation, not without risk concerning copyright compliance. Like Warhol, he chooses images proper to excite the American dream in simple and easy to recognize concepts.
The photographs of the Marlboro Man assured Prince's fame. This cowboy rides alone or in small groups through the incredible scenery of the American West. The varied advertisements made by Marlboro on this topic from 1954 to 1999 had boosted the cigarette sales of this brand.
Prince re-photographs from 1980 images of the Wild West, created or not for Marlboro. His prints in large format stars the Marlboro Man to the level of an art theme, with the encouragement and support of the brand. They are usually made in two copies plus an artist's proof.
The man of the West is often shown in silhouette, with his boots and hat. Two different copies of an iconic cowboy published in Ektachrome in 254 x 169 cm size by Prince in 2001 were sold in 2007: $ 2.8 million including premium by Christie's on May 16 and $ 3.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on November 14 .
On May 13 in New York, Christie's manages a sale in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to benefit the preservation of wildlife. It is presented in the press release as the biggest charity auction ever conducted for the environment.
The contribution of Prince is an artist's proof of an undated Ektacolor, 150 x 211 cm, titled Silhouette Cowboy. This beautiful image, estimated $ 600K, shows a group of cowboys on horseback facing cattle in a very artistic environment where the blue of the forest of longhorns reminds the early figurative compositions of Zao Wou-ki.
Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The success of this auction is phenomenal: $ 33M including premium for 33 works by 33 different artists. This is mostly a perfect showcase of the art of today, with 13 world records for very young artists including $ 6.5 million including premium for Mark Grotjahn.
Richard Prince, born in 1949, is one of the elders in this group. Sold $ 1.26 million including premium, his Ektacolor also exceeded its higher estimate.
For this charity auction, the premium has been reduced to 5% and is also applied to the benefit of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation after deducting the direct costs of the sale.
The photographs of the Marlboro Man assured Prince's fame. This cowboy rides alone or in small groups through the incredible scenery of the American West. The varied advertisements made by Marlboro on this topic from 1954 to 1999 had boosted the cigarette sales of this brand.
Prince re-photographs from 1980 images of the Wild West, created or not for Marlboro. His prints in large format stars the Marlboro Man to the level of an art theme, with the encouragement and support of the brand. They are usually made in two copies plus an artist's proof.
The man of the West is often shown in silhouette, with his boots and hat. Two different copies of an iconic cowboy published in Ektachrome in 254 x 169 cm size by Prince in 2001 were sold in 2007: $ 2.8 million including premium by Christie's on May 16 and $ 3.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on November 14 .
On May 13 in New York, Christie's manages a sale in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to benefit the preservation of wildlife. It is presented in the press release as the biggest charity auction ever conducted for the environment.
The contribution of Prince is an artist's proof of an undated Ektacolor, 150 x 211 cm, titled Silhouette Cowboy. This beautiful image, estimated $ 600K, shows a group of cowboys on horseback facing cattle in a very artistic environment where the blue of the forest of longhorns reminds the early figurative compositions of Zao Wou-ki.
Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The success of this auction is phenomenal: $ 33M including premium for 33 works by 33 different artists. This is mostly a perfect showcase of the art of today, with 13 world records for very young artists including $ 6.5 million including premium for Mark Grotjahn.
Richard Prince, born in 1949, is one of the elders in this group. Sold $ 1.26 million including premium, his Ektacolor also exceeded its higher estimate.
For this charity auction, the premium has been reduced to 5% and is also applied to the benefit of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation after deducting the direct costs of the sale.
