NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries spring sale of Fine Photographs is rich in masters of the medium, working in all formats, including nineteenth-century panoramas, photo books, portfolios, and fine art prints. The sale will be a timed online auction open for bidding April 23 through May 8 and will begin closing at 12 PM EST. Bidding is available on the Swann Galleries App and on live.swanngalleries.com.
Iconic works such as Alfred Eisenstaedt’s Premiere at La Scala, Milan, 1934, printed circa 1990 ($5,000-7,500), Dorothea Lange’s A Sign of the Times (Depression – Mended Stockings, Stenographer, San Francisco), 1934, printed circa 1960 ($20,000-30,000), Gordon Parks’ American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942, printed 1996 ($5,000-7,500), Brassaï’s Couple d’amoureux, quartier place d’Italie, Paris, 1932, printed circa 1970 ($10,000-15,000), and Roy DeCarava’s stunning portfolio of 11 (of 12) photogravures titled Roy DeCarava, 1950-79, printed 1991 ($50,000-75,000), showcase the rich range of fine art photographers throughout the century.
The sale will present Joshua Beal’s incredibly rare panorama of Lower Manhattan Beal’s Photographic View of New York, 1876 ($20,000-30,000). Astonishing both in scale and detail, this work prominently features the New York Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge. Also of note is a selection of approximately 300 New York City architectural site surveys and real estate photographs from 1941 to 1978 ($2,500-3,500). Other important American and European nineteenth-century photography can also be found, including Francis Frith’s mammoth albumen print The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, 1858 ($8,000-12,000).
Contemporary highlights include Alex Soth’s Charles, Vasa, Minneapolis (Man with Plane), 2001 ($15,000-20,000), Shirin Neshat’s Rebellious Silence, from the Women of Allah series, 1994 ($10,000-15,000), and Sandy Skoglund’s Ferns, 1980 ($2,000-3,000). Works by Catherine Opie, Mark Seliger, Lee Friedlander, Laurie Simmons and more also feature.
Photobooks also take a prominent seat in this sale, headlined by Hans Bellmer’s La Poupée, 1936—with 10 of 10 silver prints, the rare edition of 80 copies with the text printed on rose paper ($30,000-45,000). Other important titles include Walker Evans’ collaboration with James Agee Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, 1941, this copy signed by Agee ($2,500-3,500), Eikoh Hosoe’s Otoko to Onna [Man and Woman], 1961 ($1,200-1,800), and Roger Parry & Fabian Loris’ Banalité, 1930 ($1,000-1,500).
Auction house favorites such as Edward Steichen, Brassaï, Edward Weston and Robert Mapplethorpe round out the sale.
