COLOGNE.- The Kunsthaus Lempertz Photography Auction, with approximately 200 lots, offers a cross-section through the history of the medium: from the early daguerreotypes and salt-paper prints to classical modern, from the 'fotoform' group to contemporary works.

One area of interest comes from, amongst others, the photography of the Bauhaus, with names such as Lucia Moholy (Lots 29–33, € 500–2.000), T. Lux Feininger (Lots 27/28, € 600/800) and Umbo (Lots 37–41, € 2.500/3.000) represented. From other protagonists of the 1920s, Albert Renger-Patzsch with plant motifs (Lots 42/43, € 2.200 and 3/4.000) and pictures from his famous series “Töpferhände“ (Lots 44/45, € 2.800) must be mentioned, as well as August Sander who took a portrait of a group of mayors from the Eifel in 1928 (Lot 51, € 3.500). The only known print from Aenne Biermann of an intense close up of a boy's head is on also offer (Lot 26, € 3.900). The architectural photography from those years is represented by an austere interior shot of a gym from Werner Mantz (Lot 60, € 2.500).

Further highlights of the European avant-garde are Germaine Krull's modernist work of the Parisian Eiffel tower (Lot 71, € 4.000) and André Kertész’ famous „Melancholic Tulip“ from 1939 in a print from the 1950s (Lot 72, € 4/5.000). Many works come with an American provenance: from the seemingly surreal 'Saints for Sale' from Berenice Abbott (Lot 77, € 4.000) to the graphical street scene in NYC, captured by Lee Friedlander (Lot 141, € 3.500) and the lighthearted 'Girls in the Windows' from Ormond Gigli (Lot 150, € 6/8.000). Also worth mentioning at this point is the captivating portrait taken by the emigrant Andreas Feininger of his american colleague Dennis Stock (Lot 144, € 6.000). Probably his most famous shot is of a young James Dean in a rainy Times Square (Lot 143, € 1.500).

The main works amongst the contemporary photography will be offered in the Contemporary Art Auction on 1 June including two four-piece tableaus from Bernd and Hilla Becher set at € 30/40.000 each (Lots 508/509). Stephen Shore is represented with his portfolio 'Twelve Photographs' (Lot 757, € 25/30.000). A two-piece photo work from Axel Hütte is valued at € 10/12.000 (Lot 611) and a large format digital ink-jet print from Wolfgang Tillmans from his abstract series 'Blushes' is set at € 15/20.000 (Lot 758).

Auction 978 Photography | Monday, 30 May 2011
Auction 980 Contemporary Art + Photography | Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Preview:
Tue 24 - Fri 27 May 10 am - 5.30 pm
Sat 28 May 10 am - 4 pm | Sun 29 May 11 am - 3 pm | Mon 30 May 10 am - 3 pm