Bonhams auctioneers will offer Fine Photographs on November 2, 2010. Simulcast between the New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles salesrooms, the auction will feature a diverse selection of important works by 19th and 20th century American and European photographers, as well as images by cutting-edge contemporary photographers. The diverse Fall sale will include works by masters of the craft such as Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edward S. Curtis, Dorothea Lange, Shirin Neshat and Joel Sternfeld
Highlighting the 110 lot fall auction is an important offering by Ansel Adams titled Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras, 1927 (est. $40,000-60,000). Comprised of 18 gelatin silver prints, the lot features many of the artist’s most beloved images of the Western United States including: Sierra Junipers, The Abode of Snow and Monolith, The Face of Half Dome and El Capitan, among others.
The proposed edition was slated to be 150 of Adams’ images, but was never completed. A number of the portfolios were destroyed in a fire in 1937 and only about 75 sets are believed to have survived.
“Adams creates a visual language for the viewer with his use of stark shapes in both the positive and negative spaces within his work. This creates a dramatic impact, which can be seen in all facets of the image including the trees, mountains and sky. Bonhams is pleased to offer such an iconic piece of American history,” said Judith Eurich, Director, Fine Photographs.
Additional works by Adams in the fall auction include Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, California, 1944 (est. $25,000-35,000). The gelatin silver print is signed in pencil and accompanies his credit stamp ‘Photograph by Ansel Adams, Route 1, Box 181, Carmel, California 93921’ (BMFA 11).
Additional works of note by American photographers include a gelatin silver print of New York, titled Teenage Couple on Hudson Street, N.Y.C., 1963 by Diane Arbus (est. $20,000-30,000); a toned platinum print titled Geronimo, Apache, 1907 by Edward S. Curtis (est. $10,000-15,000); a gelatin silver print, inscribed ‘Documentary Photograph-Street Meeting, San Francisco, Cal.-Aug 1936, Street Demonstration, San Francisco, 1933’ by Dorothea Lange (est. $15,000-25,000) and a contemporary dye-transfer print by Joel Sternfeld titled Exhausted Renegade Elephant, Woodland, Washington, June, 1979 (est. $10,000-15,000).
Featured within the international offering is a gelatin silver print titled Srinagar, Kashmir, 1948 by Henri Cartier-Bresson (est. $7,000-10,000) a vibracolor print titled VB 26 – Performance, Galleria Lea Rumma, Naples, 1997 by Vanessa Beecroft (est. $8,000-12,000) and a chromogenic print titled I am its secret, 1993 by Shirin Neshat (est. $8,000-9,000).
The illustrated catalogue is available online for review and purchase at www.bonhams.com/us.
Los Angeles Preview: October 16-18, 2010
San Francisco Preview: October 23-25, 2010
New York Preview: October 30-November 1, 2010
Auction: November 2, 2010, New York, simulcast to San Francisco and Los Angeles
www.bonhams.com/usphotos
