Highlights of the New York Photographs sale include: Diane Arbus, Identical Twins, Roselle, NJ, 1967, estimated at $70,000-90,000; Robert Frank’s portrait Ben James, Welsh Miner, 1953, estimated at $60,000-80,000; Hiroshi Sugimoto, Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, 1998, estimated between $50,000-70,000 and Edward Steichen’s exceptionally rare Wheelbarrow with Flower Pots, France, 1920, a palladium and ferroprussiate print which will be offered with a pre-sale estimate of $150,000-200,000. This work marks a pivotal point in the photographer’s career for its conceptual and technical mastery and has never appeared at auction in this medium.
Vanessa Kramer, Director of the New York Photographs department, declares: “We are pleased to offer a sale that reflects the international photographs market and furthermore features a wide spectrum of visions, styles, movements and eras, all united by the uncompromising commitment to producing the best in the field of photography.”
Other excellent examples by renowned photographers include Josef Koudelka’s Romania, 1968, estimated at $15,000-20,000; Robert Mapplethorpe’s Ken Moody and Robert Sherman, 1984, estimated at $60,000-80,000; Andy Warhol’s Parking Lot Sign, c. 1976-86, estimated at $25,000-35,000; and Joel Sternfeld’s McLean Virginia, December 4, 1978, an oversized dye transfer print from the edition of 10, estimated at $40,000-60,000. Desirable photographs by Helen Levitt, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lewis Hine and Harry Callahan will also be included in the sale.
Hailed as one of the most influential and prolific American photographers of all time, Irving Penn will be represented with five excellent works, including Cocoa dress (Balenciaga), Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, Paris, 1950 estimated at $60,000 80,000, Cuzco Children, Peru, December, 1948, estimated at $60,000-80,000; Columbine/Aquilegia vulgaris: William Guiness, New York, 2006, estimated at $25,000-35,000; Crescent Bicorne Hat (Evelyn Tripp), New York, 1949, estimated at $20,000-30,000; and Dahomey Children, 1967, estimated at $18,000-22,000.
Fashion photography will be beautifully represented by both classic and contemporary masters, including nine works by Helmut Newton highlighted with Saddle II, Paris, 1976, estimated at $40,000-60,000; David LaChapelle’s Addicted to Diamonds, 1997, estimated at $40,000-60,000; Herb Ritts’s Versace Dress, Back View, El Mirage, 1990, estimated at $15,000-25,000 and Louis Faurer’s Bowing for the Vogue Collection, Paris, 1972, estimated at $15,000-20,000.
This sale will also offer a selection of 25 exceptional prints by legendary French photographer Willy Ronis, whose images captured the charm, magic and joiede- vivre of post-war France. Many of his most recognizable images will be offered, including Les amoureux de la Bastille, Paris, 1957, estimated at $5,000-7,000 and Le petit Parisien, 1952, estimated at $4,000-6,000. Like his colleagues Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau, Ronis documented the unexpected moments of life where observation and chance resulted in snapshots of Parisian street life that range from humorous to startlingly beautiful.
Contemporary photographs include David LaChapelle’s Last Supper (Jesus is my Homeboy), 2003, estimated at $60,000-80,000; Brazilian photographer Vik Muniz’s Venus and Cupid after Antonio Allegri Corregio from Pictures of Junk, 2006, estimated at $30,000-50,000; Ruud Van Empel’s Venus # 3, 2007, estimated at $25,000-35,000 and Lorna Simpson’s Shoe Lover # 3, 1992, estimated at $22,000-28,000 among a wide variety of other established and cutting-edge photographers alike, such as Cindy Sherman, Peter Beard, Erwin Olaf, Elger Esser, Gavin Bond and Ahmet Ertug.
Ten works by lauded Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, each estimated at $4,000-6,000, will be prominently featured. The works were originally published in Personal Sentimentalism in Photography, a compilation marking Araki’s 60th birthday, and reflect the photographer’s celebration of life, love and women.
Other images from Japan include selections from the Jacobson/Hashimoto Collection, which typify the diversity and appeal of Modernist Japanese photography. Featured are works by Koyo Okada, Shikanosuke Yagaki, Iwao Yamawaki, Ryukichi Shibuya; Yoshiyuke Iwase and Fusao Hori.
Sale on Friday, April 16, 2010.
