DALLAS, TX.- If the saying holds true and a moment or a soul is frozen and captured each time a photographer makes a photograph, then Heritage's April 29-30 Photographs Signature® Auction is a time machine both nostalgic and somehow prescient. And one piloted by photographer greats Robert Frank, Edward S. Curtis, George Tice, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Peter Beard, Harry Callahan, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Nan Goldin, Garry Winogrand...the list goes on to a dizzying length.

Dizzying, but accessible. The auction is a sweet spot for Heritage, but also a point of opportunity for photophiles and collectors at every level. "This is the largest, most valuable photography auction we've had," says Nigel Russell, Heritage's Director of Photographs. "We're offering photographs that you just don't see at other auction houses."

"And it allows us to create a bit of texture around the sale, not just in variety of photographers, but in price points as well," adds Laura Paterson, Heritage's Consignment Director of Photographs. "It's enticing to everyone, not just people with deep pockets."

What makes this trip to the past even more engaging, illuminating and oftentimes charismatic is that many of the highlights come not only in the form of acclaimed photographs but also from several important private collections including those of acclaimed photographers Abe Frajndlich and Hal Gould.

Viewing the 69 photographs on offer from Frajndlich almost feels like being invited to an intimate dinner party in the past with some of the most iconic subjects and artists. Arnold Newman's instantly identifiable and structured 1940s portraits of Igor Stravinsky and Piet Mondrian could hold an interesting conversation with Inge Morath's organic shot of Marilyn Monroe from 1960, Joel-Peter Witkin's 1981 portrait of a member of New York City's clothing-restricted Hellfire Club, Nobuyoshi Araki's unflinching Girl on Bed, Tokyo, 2003 and Ilse Bing's Moulin Rouge images. Meanwhile, even finer details are discussed at the other end of the table: Frank Horvat takes on heels in the Fashion Capital of the World while Edward Weston's Pepper #30 loses none of its spice thanks to the play of light and shadow.

Jasper Johns and Miles Davis make an appearance, courtesy of photographer Serge Moreno Cohen. "Each image with Serge Cohen is the apotheosis of the subject long before the image is made and long after the session is over," says Frajndlich.

The same could be said for the impact photographer and collector Hal Gould and his Camera Obscura gallery had on the American photography world. "The collection Gould left behind speaks of his extraordinary passion for the medium, as well as his tireless promotion of the work of other photographers," says Russell. "During the gallery's over 32-year existence, Gould held more than 250 exhibitions by emerging and renowned photographers. He was responsible for organizing Sebastião Salgado's first solo show in America, as well as welcoming other photographic luminaries to Denver."

Via this selection, Heritage shares Gould's enthusiasm by offering works by photographers he admired, including Jerry Uelsmann's ethereal Untitled (Rowboat in Clouds), 1995, Todd Webb's urban landscape photographs of Paris and New York City and war correspondence photos from Dmitri Baltermants.

Photographer Loretta Young-Gautier served as associate director at Camera Obscura, where, she says, every reception had one thing in common. "We did lots of parties at the gallery, and Hal's toast was always the same: ‘To the magic of photography, without which none of us would be here today.' I can still hear him say it, raising his glass in the air."

When Gould closed Camera Obscura in 2011 and died in 2015 at the age of 95, a little bit of the magic died with him. But even so, his spell had been cast, and there's no way of knowing how many people came to appreciate photography because of him. This auction — and up-coming Heritage auctions including more of Hal Gould's collection — could keep that cycle of appreciation alive in new collectors.

The event includes works from a number of distinguished private collections, and includes a handful of exceptional photographs by the great Robert Frank. One standout from this group is New Orleans (Trolley), 1956, from Frank's 1959 opus The Americans. "It is a highlight of the auction — a beautifully observed, carefully framed work, and is arguably the most desirable from this ground-breaking series, encapsulating perfectly the dispiriting reality of segregation in the American south at that time," says Paterson.

Another private collection trove featured in the event is a stunning group of works by Edward Sheriff Curtis, and features 10 images that prove Curtis as a camera-eye historian and blur the line between documentation and environmental portraiture. And with good reason. In the early 1900s, Curtis believed North America's native people and their cultures would be all but erased by and superseded by white society, so he began a study, both artistic and scholarly, to record cultural identities. According to the Library of Congress, "Curtis' photographic work is now recognized as one of the most significant records of Native culture ever produced. His photographs have been included in virtually every anthology of historical photographs of Native Americans and are now frequently used to illustrate books and documentaries."

An Oasis in the Badlands, 1905, Three Chiefs, Piegan, 1900 and Inuit hut and Family, circa 1921 are stunning examinations: each figure regal in their claim of space but dwarfed by expanse. Conversely, his portrait of Geronimo allows the eye nowhere else to wander but the chiseled aged face of the Apache leader. An interesting note: This print of the warrior chief is printed facing right, when in most images he is shown facing left.

Other highlights featuring the natural and human world are Peter Beard's oversized digital pigment prints from the Provocateur nightclub in New York. "It was this exclusive place that was known for its distinct interior style, and it only played electronic music. It wasn't disco. It was something else entirely," says Paterson. "The owners of the nightclub engaged Beard to create these enormous photographs to decorate the hall, and he got involved in designing the interior. It became Peter's Hangout." Initially conceived as an exhibition, the 2013 commission gradually transformed into an integral part of the club's decor, evolving into a full-scale installation that merged art with the plant-filled environment. The photographs of a Large Mugger Crocodile and Elephant, and portraits of Turkana women wearing neck beads symbolize that world and one of Beard's last full-scale installations, and Heritage is delighted to have now been entrusted with their sale.

"Oversized" also describes the auction's platinum palladium prints of American photographer George Tice, who died in January. All of Tice's images showcase a deft skill in exposure, processing and printing as every piece features an air of mystery and haunting lighting, pulling the eye to seemingly abandoned locales, like a phone booth or a White Castle.

Not all the destinations in this photo auction time hop are from collections, although some feel like part of one thanks to their subjects and inherent nostalgia. A maquette for Sam Haskin's 1964 innovative publication, Cowboy Kate and Other Stories, is possibly the last of four in existence. An Annie Leibowitz series of The Wizard of Oz-themed images, shot for Vogue's celebrated December 2005 edition, features Kiera Knightly as Dorothy and a slew of surprising co-stars from Jeff Koons to Kiki Smith and other noted contemporary artists. The eight images were concepted by high-fashion editorial force Grace Coddington and have never before been at auction.

Other images will prove collector favorites because of their celebrity subjects. Herb Ritts' portrait of Carol Channing and Pee-Wee Herman, for example, is a sweet tribute to the late comedy greats. Elliot Landy's Bob Dylan portrait will bring back memories for fans of Nashville Skyline. Zenon Texeira's Muhammad Ali portraits show the spirit of his youth in the wisdom of his aging face.

This Photographs auction offers much: a time capsule, a journey, and revelations galore — but even more, it's an opportunity to dive deep into the world of aperture, shutter speed, burning and dodging.