Marking the first anniversary of Photograph sales in New York, Bloomsbury Auctions is pleased to present their upcoming sale of Photographs and Photographic Editions featuring selections from The Suzanne and Hugh Johnston Weegee Collection and offerings from a rare, Private Collection of mint Photobooks
Bloomsbury Auctions is pleased to announce an auction featuring selections from two prestigious private collections as well as coveted photographic works from various owners in its New York City headquarters on 6 October 2009 at 2:00 pm. The sale will cover all time periods and genres of photography including works by iconic artists such as Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Bill Brandt, Lee Friedlander, Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Herb Ritts and Alec Soth.
Weegee (1899-1968)
The Face of the Village, 1956
$4,000-6,000
Offerings from The Suzanne and Hugh Johnston Weegee Collection include photographs from the period when they knew Weegee, beginning when they first met in 1956, which was the pivotal point in his career when he was transitioning from sensational photojournalist to a recorder of cultural and pop history. The Johnstons now currently hold the largest collection of works by Weegee from this period still in private hands. Highlights include works from his Village series such as The Face of the Village, 1956 (the frontispiece to the book The Village, $4,000-6,000), his commercial works for publications such as Vogue including Jackie Gleason, 1955 (part of a spread in the July 1955 issue, $4,000-6,000) and numerous examples from his forays into innovative photography, or “trick photography”, that include distortions as varied as Marilyn Monroe, New York City landscapes and images from his Circus series.
This selection also includes color work by Weegee never before offered at auction. In the ICP exhibition Weegee’s Trick Photography (December 2002 – February 2003), the Johnstons were asked to contribute five color works by Weegee and these are the same prints now offered for sale in this upcoming auction including Clown in a Pinwheel, 1957 (also featured on the cover of The Photo Review, Winter 1999, $4,000-6,000).
A documentary of Weegee shot by the Johnstons titled Walking with Weegee will be screened in conjuncture with a speaking engagement by the Johnstons at a reception to be held on Friday, 2 October from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at Bloomsbury, New York.
William Klein (b. 1928)
New York: Life is good for you
and good in New York, 1956
$5,000-7,000
The selection of mint, first edition and limited, deluxe edition photobooks on offer from a Private Collection bring to market a rare grouping of over 60 books of the finest condition including such rare examples as a signed, first French edition of William Klein’s New York: Life is Good For You and Good In New York, 1956 ($5,000-7,000); Shomei Tomatsu’s Nagasaki 11:02, 1966 ($3,000-5,000); a double signed, first edition copy of Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel’s Evidence, 1977 ($3,000-5,000) and pristine copies of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s The Decisive Moment, 1952 ($3,000-5,000) and Lewis Baltz’s The New Industrial Parks near Irvine, CA, 1974 ($2,000-3,000).
Supporting these collections are important works offered by various owners including Suzuki and Kimura’s double volume Ginza Hacchome, Ginza Kaiwai, 1954 ($5,000-7,000); a signed, first edition of Dave Heath’s Dialogue with Solitude, 1965 ($3,000-5,000); a deluxe, limited edition of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s Blast Furnaces, 2003; Richard Avedon’s Cyd Charisse, Dress by Macrini, New York Studio, 1961 ($20,000-30,000) and The Generals of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1963 ($15,000-20,000); a never before seen at auction vintage dye transfer of Ernst Haas’ Ritual Dance, Coronation Day, Bhutan, 1974 ($9,000-12,000); Chuck Close’s Sunflower, 1989 ($8,000-10,000); Eugene Atget’s Saint Cloud, 1904 ($7,000-9,000) and Robert Mapplethorpe’s Scott Daly, 1979 ($6,000-8,000).
Exhibition Viewings for the Photographs and Photographic Editions Sale are:
Thursday 1 October, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 2 October, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 3 October, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 4 October, 12:00 – 5:00 pm
Monday 5 October, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Weegee Screening and Q&A Reception:
Friday 2 October, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Bloomsbury Auctions
6 West 48th Street, New York, NY 10036
Tel +1 212 719 1000; Fax +1 212 719 1400
Head Photographs Specialist: Hannah Hayden
[email protected]
www.bloomsburyauctions.com
