With an excellent selection of work by iconic photographers such as Ansel Adams, Irving Penn, and Herb Ritts, collectors are eagerly awaiting the upcoming sale of Fine Photography scheduled to take place at Bonhams New York on May 19th.
Garnering much pre-sale attention is a quintessential Ansel Adams work. Instantaneously identifiable, Moon and Half Dome, encompasses all of the hallmarks generally associated with Adams’ work, and features the photographer’s favored subject matter, Yosemite National Park. Taken in 1960 during the final twenty years of his life, he considered this image his favorite to be taken with a Hasselblad camera.
Signed in pencil on the mount, the image also bears his credit stamp ‘Photograph by Ansel Adams, Route 1, Box 181, Carmel, California 93923’. Carrying an estimate of $20/30,000, this universally recognizable image is sure to lure bidders.
From the legendary Irving Penn is Three Women of Rissanis. Taken in Morocco in 1971, the black and white portrait of the three subjects maintains its intimacy regardless of the fact that the women’s faces and bodies are hidden by their stark black burquas. The image to be offered, printed in 1978, is signed and titled with the edition numbered in pencil, and a Penn-Condé Nast copyright credit reproduction limitation. It is expected to fetch $25/35,000.
Also of interest to Penn collectors is the photographer’s portrait of the equally legendary French journal writer Anais Nin. Taken in 1971, Penn’s candid image is estimated at $12/18,000.
An untitled image from Gregory Crewdson’s Twilight series (pictured, right) is cause for excitement. Begun in 1998 and completed in 2002, the series consists of elaborately staged, large-scale scenes that juxtapose both the mundaneness and dysfunction that can be perceived of the mythically bucolic North American suburb.
The image to be offered pictures an ordinary suburban neighborhood, at the center of which is a dead cow attended to by firemen and officials. The tableau is made even more ominous by the towns people clad in bright yellow rescue uniforms who are scattered throughout the background standing ineffectively and unmoved by the scene.
With an estimate of $15/20,000, this eerily intense image is certain to pique collector interest.
Herb Ritts’ unmistakably bold style is perfectly exemplified in his 1989 Djimon with Octopus. The strong profile of the subject, with the added alienness of the octopus draped upon his head, creates a stark and unforgettable image. Signed, titled, and dated the oversized print carries an estimate of $10/15,000.
Bidders will also be drawn to Ruth Bernhard’s In the Box-Horizontal, 1962. Estimated at $10/15,000, the lot is a brilliant example of the photographer’s dramatic and complex approach to nudes.
The illustrated auction catalog is currently online for review and purchase at www.bonhams.com/photography . Previews open at Bonhams NY on May 16th, continuing daily until the auction.
http://www.bonhams.com/usphotos