NEW YORK, NY.- From June 27 to July 10, Bonhams presents Stonewall@50, an online sale of photographs celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising which heralded a new era of gay and transgender equality. This exceptional sale of over 130 lots, with a range of estimates starting from $1,000, includes works from renowned photographers such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin, and Annie Leibovitz. In celebration of the legacy of Stonewall and World Pride, a portion of the proceeds from this sale will be donated to The Elton John Aids Foundation.

Sir Elton John, Founder, Elton John AIDS Foundation, said: “I’m delighted that Bonhams’ sale will help support The Elton John AIDS Foundation’s efforts to save lives of some of the most vulnerable LGBT groups in the world. It is a very fitting part of Stonewall’s legacy.”

The sale also includes a selection of photographs by Herb Ritts from American hit songwriter Bruce Roberts. He comments: “My Herb Ritts photographs included in Stonewall@50 were not his most famous images, but his favorites, and he knew how much I loved them and wanted them in my life. After living with these for decades, I feel that the timing is now right to release them to collectors who will not only cherish them, as I did, but who will also relish the fact that their acquisitions are supporting The Elton John AIDS Foundation, especially as Herb was on their board. Herb’s photographs are everlasting.”

Additional highlights include:

• Nan Goldin (born 1953), Misty doing her make-up, Paris, 1991. Estimate: $3,000-5,000

• Danny Lyon (born 1942), Route 12, Wisconsin, from "The Bikeriders", 1963. Estimate: $2,500-3,500

• Dennis Hopper (1936-2010), Andy Warhol, Henry Geldzahler, David Hockney and Jeff Goodman, 1963. Estimate: $3,000-5,000

Stonewall
On June 28, 1969 police attempted to raid the Stonewall Inn, a small gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. The raid quickly spun out of control, inciting a riot involving hundreds of people and over the next 5 days protests by thousands. This event inspired new awareness and activism amongst the LGBTQ community, and within a few years gay rights organizations had been founded across the US and around the world. The Stonewall riots are now widely considered the most important moment in the gay liberation movement. Today LGBTQ Pride events are held annually in late June throughout the world to commemorate Stonewall.