NEW YORK.- Building on the recent success of the $9.7 million sale of the Refco Contemporary Photography Collection in April, the breaking of the $1 million barrier for a photograph at auction in November 2005, and the mid-season sale this September targeted at the entry-level bidder, Christie’s remains the auction house of choice for collectors and offers clients unrivalled service and expertise across the globe.

The major New York Fall 2006 Photographs auctions, to be held on October 17 and 18, feature over 350 lots and contains an excellent mix of works, from the origins of the medium in the mid 19th Century to contemporary color photography. Set to inspire and delight connoisseurs and art-lovers the world over, the sale includes five notable collections, both from private and institution sources and also features an Evening session with over 50 top lots.

Collections: One of the most important collections of 1860s and 1870s portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron ever to appear at auction, and formerly belonging to Gary and Barbara Hansen, provides an early-period highlight, with Sappho (Mary Hillier), 1865 a fine example (estimate: $40,000-60,000). Cameron was influenced by the Pre-Raphelite aesthetic in England and the collection includes one of her favorite images, a portrait of her niece entitled Julia Jackson, September 26, 1875 (estimate: $30,000-50,000).

An exceptional private collection offers seminal works by Robert Frank, Edward Weston and Harry Callahan. The Callahan photographs include a number of rare and early examples, including Wisconson, c. 1949 and Chicago, 1954 (estimate: $20,000-30,000 each), while the Weston selection includes two images from his 1936 Dunes series (estimate: $40,000-60,000 each).

An intriguing 17-lot assembly of portraits sourced from a corporate collection features a self-portrait from the very beginnings of photography, Portrait of Auguste Vacquerie, 1852-53 (estimate: $4,000-6,000) and a self portrait of contemporary master Vik Muniz from 1999 (estimate: $12,000-18,000). Other notable self-portraits include works by Edward Steichen and Adam Fuss.

Pamela Hanson is one of today’s leading fashion photographers and the sale features 35 photographs from her own collection. Unsurprisingly, the lots offered focus largely on fashion photography, with works by Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon and Irving Penn. Irving Penn also dominates a 12-lot Swiss private collection; over a number of past seasons its dispersal has helped establish a firm market for works by this seminal Post-War artist.

Evening Sale
The Evening Sale, to be held on the evening of Tuesday 17 at 5pm, features over 50 masterworks by modern and contemporary photographers including images by Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Edward Weston, William Eggleston, Ansel Adams and Irving Penn. With its excellent array of iconic and captivating images, the Evening Sale offers bidders the perfect opportunity to strengthen a collection or purchase a definitive image for the home.

Notable highlights include a unique Andy Warhol portrait with four silk screen panels by Robert Mapplethorpe (estimate: $200,000-300,000); a vintage 1927 Knees print by Edward Weston (estimate: $200,000-300,000); a two-volume set of 100 William Eggleston prints, Election Eve, never before offered at auction (estimate: $80,000-120,000); nine lots by Diane Arbus, including A Christmas Tree in Levittown, N.Y., 1963 (estimate: $140,000-180,000); and Black and White Vogue Cover, 1950 by Irving Penn (estimate: $200,000-300,000).