NEW YORK, NY.- Aperture Foundation, a New York-based non-profit arts institution that is a leading force in the field of photography, will hold its 2009 Benefit and Auction on Monday, November 2, at The Lighthouse, Pier 61, Chelsea Piers, New York. This year’s event honors three individuals: Howard Greenberg, one of the world’s top photography dealers, and an authority on nineteenth- and twentieth-century photography; Susana Torruella Leval, curator, arts advocate and Aperture trustee; and master photographer Joel Meyerowitz, whose latest monograph, Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks, with a foreword by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is being published by Aperture in October 2009. This year’s auction is Aperture’s biggest ever, with over seventy donated artworks ranging from classic to contemporary photographs by masters through emerging stars.

This year’s benefit is co-chaired by Estrellita Brodsky, noted patron and collector of Latin American art; philanthropists Gary and Ellen Davis; gallerist Edwynn Houk; renowned artist and actress Jessica Lange; prominent collectors Gary and Sarah Wolkowitz; and Aperture trustee, art patron, and photographer Diane Tuft. The auction chair is Cathy Kaplan, Aperture trustee, avid photography collector, and partner at Sidley Austin LLP, New York.

A cocktail reception and silent auction will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and will be followed by a dinner, live auction, and awards ceremony from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Denise Bethel, senior vice president and director of photographs, Sotheby’s, will be the auctioneer. The Aperture Benefit and Auction attracts leaders from the international art, photography, publishing, design, business, and philanthropic communities. Proceeds from the event will support Aperture’s publications, exhibitions, and humanities programs. The auction prints are available for preview at www.aperture.org /auction. Among the exciting artists who are featured are: Diane Arbus, Bill Armstrong, Jerry Berndt, Miguel Rio Branco, Dana Buckley, Catherine Chalmers, Keith Carter, Elinor Carucci, Bruce Davidson, Sally Gall, Flor Garduño, Peter Granser, Jacqueline Hassink, Betsy Karel, Yousuf Karsh, Atta Kim, Edward Mapplethorpe, Joel Meyerowitz, Tina Modotti, Andrew Moore, Abelardo Morell, Michael “Nick” Nichols, Mark Osterman, Matthew Pillsbury, Sylvia Plachy, and Malick Sidibé, as well as a portrait commission by Elliot Erwitt.

“We are delighted by the positive response we have received to this year’s benefit, which promises to be a spectacular evening celebrating the best in photography,” said Juan García de Oteyza, executive director, Aperture Foundation. “The funds raised at this event are vital to furthering our mission to advance photography in all its forms, and we are thrilled to have the support of such an illustrious and talented group of co-chairs, and to honor three such iconic and beloved figures as Howard, Susana, and Joel, for their outstanding achievements in the field of photography.”