LONDON.- Phillips de Pury & Company announces the highlights of the forthcoming London s sale on Thursday May 19, 2011. The London photographs department, a leader in the European market, will offer a full range of exciting works from diverse genres and movements integral to 20th and 21st century photography.
“The May 19th London Photographs auction builds on our recent successes by including quality material by value and aesthetic that is on the cutting edge of what is most desirable in today’s worldwide photographs market.” Vanessa Kramer, Worldwide Director, Photographs.
“I am ecstatic about offering such a diverse and appealing section of photography, the sale fully embraces and pays homage to all genres and mediums, offering a vibrant composite of great iconic works and exciting contemporary artists. If you are looking for a known fashion image the sale will appeal, if you are looking for a more conceptual contemporary image you will love it – there really is something for every type of collector and collection.” Lou Proud, Head of Photographs London.
Highlights:
The sale begins with an impressive group of fashion associated names in photography. Leading with an image which is fast becoming iconic; Simone and Nina, Piazza di Spagna, Rome (Vogue), 1960 by William Klein estimated at £2,200 2,800. Followed by Herb Ritts Lot 4, Mask, Hollywood, 1989, estimated at £5,000-7,000, Erwin Blumenfeld Lot 7, Shadow Profile Behind Veil, 1943, estimated at £8,000-12,000 (In which Blumenfeld conveys quintessential sensuousness of the double image and his skill as a master printer), Helmut Newton Lot 8, Veiled Woman in Venice Fashion study for Queen Magazine, 1966 estimated at £5,000-7,000 – a more unusual shot taken of Mirella Petteni veiled heavily in black lace with a haunted disposition and also the ever in demand image by George Hoyningen-Huene of Divers, Horst with Model, Paris 1930, estimated at £7,000-9,000 is also present.
Two timeless and ever recognized works by Richard Avedon are outstanding; Marella Agnelli, New York Studio, December, 1953 with her elongated neck and regal poise presented in Lot 12, estimated at £30,000-40,000, is a sharp contrast to the wrapped limbs and body suit of the revered super model, seen in Lot 17 titled Veruschka, Wrap by Giorgio Armani di Sant'Angelo, New York studio, March, 1972 estimated at £12,000-18,000.
Irving Penn’s shifting and developing focus as a photographer is represented throughout the sale starting with a very early work, the quite astounding portrait Alfred Hitchcock, New York, May 23, taken in 1947 estimated at £18,000-22,000 –his bulbous shape mirrored by the rolled scroll of carpet on which he perches, all textures and thread in both the carpet and suit are visible due to Penn’s mastery. Jean Patchett is totally frozen by Penn’s camera in Lot 116, Woman with Handkerchief New York, 1951 estimated at £20,000-25,000, here Penn is moving away tentatively from his obsession with still life. Also included is a much later image by Penn – a daisy meticulously scrutinized in Lot 109, Daisy with Water Drops, New York, 1968-69 estimated at £10,000-15,000.
Flower works by Robert Mapplethorpe are represented by an elegant gelatin silver print of Calla Lily, 1987, in Lot 113 estimated at £40,000-60,000 and a group of 5 colour photogravures lot 114 – exquisitely made with his trademark attention to quality and sumptuousness.
British Photographers and images of Britain continue to be represented in the Phillips de Pury London Photographs sales – Lot 81, E.O. Hoppé’s Stock Exchange, London, c. 1920s, estimated at £3,000-5,000 captures a particular era with two men in top hats whilst we see a very elegant lady resting and deep in thought in a later print by Henri Cartier-Bresson in Lot 82, Hyde Park in the Grey Drizzle, 1937 estimated at £6,000-8,000. Ian Berry, Roger Mayne, Chris Killip and Tony Ray-Jones are also included.
Lot 111, is a portrait of Hans (Jean) Arp by the Russian photographer El Lissitzky, the work is a vintage gelatin silver photomontage placing Arp or Pra (as he was known) in front of blurry text from the Dada periodical 391 – the words are barely visible but they still allude to the sitter’s identity. The work is a great example of the artist’s versatility which was also true of his immediate contemporaries, estimated at £15,000-20,000.
A homage to the American Greats is purposely noted in Lots 44 – 51 which includes works by Larry Sultan; Woman in Curlers from The Valley, a portrait of powerful unnerving strength but also of sad resignation, estimated at £6,000-8,000. Mitch Epstein, Flag, 2000, estimated at £7,000-9,000– a cover image which never fails to unnerve or provoke, Stephen Shore’s classic Boulevard shot vividly engulfing you in America’s cultural identity which is also the case in Lot 47, Perrine, Florida, November 11, 1977 estimated at £6,000-8,000, an image of a half eaten burger on a graffiti scratched table. Ed Ruscha’s image from Parking Lots #9 (Good Year tires, 6610 Laurel Canyon, North Hollywood) from Thirty Four Parking Lots in Los Angeles, 1967 estimated at £3,000-5,000, puts a graphic perspective on the size of America’s urban landscape whilst Walker Evans’ Polaroid shot in Lot 50, Untitled ('Now Open'), 1974, estimated at £5,000-7,000, depicting a Coca Cola sign and an awning saying ‘NOW OPEN’ could not be more nationally descriptive, estimated at £5,000-7,000. An important work from the American photographer Diane Arbus is seen in Lot 60, Triplets in their bedroom, N. J., 1963, a piece with her signature style capturing the more unusual who exist a long side, estimated at £22,000-28,000.
Established Contemporary names are strongly represented as well as increasingly revered younger names. Christian Boltanski’s group of prints from his Reconstitution series in Lot 156, Reconstitution des gestes effectués par Christian Boltanski entre 1948 et 1954, 1970, estimated at £15,000-20,000 is an interesting insight into the artists formative years as an artist – during this period he was obsessed with recording and his chosen medium was photography – here is a chance to see a rare series from the beginning of his career.
Dan Holdsworth’s work from the Blackout Series, Lot 138, Blackout 08, 2010, estimated at £9,000-11,000 (The Series was recently shown during his solo exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne) continues his investigation of what we perceive as reality in terms of image, the perception being subverted until we are not sure what has been left or removed. The works are sublimely conceptual with traditional origins giving an unexpected gravitas to the actual print as object. Michael Reisch in Lot 149, Landschaft, 9/001, 2011, estimated at £10,000-15,000, again seems to present us with something that is completely natural but of course once investigated is superficial and contrived – through the mounting process it becomes even more 3 dimensional and sculptural. The main stays of Contemporary Photography; Candida Höfer, Michael Wolf, Vik Muniz and Edward Burtynsky are present amongst others.
The highest estimated lot in the sale is the Nuba Portfolio by the controversial figure and artist, Leni Riefenstahl the first western white woman to document these people – she first visited the Sudan in the 1970s where initially she fell in love with the Nuba. The Portfolio is one of the only few remaining complete sets of 30 dye transfer prints and offers a comprehensive document of the Nuba people, estimated at £60,000-80,000.
The final section of the sale is devoted to Subjective Photography, a comprehensive group put together by a European Collector over a quarter of a century. Photographers included in this section are Heinz Hajek-Halke, Christer Stromholm, Toni Schneiders and Kiyoshi Niiyama.
