| | | | | | | | AUGUST SANDER (1876–1964)
Varnisher, Cologne 1932
Large-format print from the series "Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts" ("People of the 20th century")
58.4 x 40.5 cm
Starting price: 6,000 € / Estimate: 10,000–12,000 € | | | | | | 24th OstLicht Photo Auction | | | | | | | Friday, 19 November 2021, 5pm | | | Preview: Thursday 11 – Friday 19 November 2021 2pm to 6pm
Online catalogue: here | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON (1908–2004)
"Derrière la Gare Saint-Lazare", Paris 1932
Large-format exhibition print
52.2 x 39,2 cm
Starting price: 18,000 € / Estimate: 30,000–35,000 € | | | | | | | It is a picture that everyone knows and that has never lost its appeal despite being reproduced many times: Derrière la Gare Saint-Lazare (Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare) is the ingenious picture Henri Cartier-Bresson took in 1932 of his now legendary »puddle jumper«. Like no other, this masterly shot stands for his photographic approach, which was only explained twenty years later in the photobook Images à la Sauvette (The Decisive Moment). The jumping man is captured a split second before the moment when his foot would have touched the smooth surface of the water and destroyed the perfect reflection. This motif of doubling occurs several times and in complex intertwinings in this photographic icon, which comes up for auction in an excellent, very rare large-format exhibition print from 1960 and is sure to be one of the most sought-after lots of the 24th OstLicht Photo Auction (estimate: 30,000 - 35,000 €). | | | | | | | | | ROBERT FRANK (1924–2019)
Candy Store, New York, 1955
Rare signed print, published in the book "The Americans"
20 x 30 cm
Starting price: 22,000 € / Estimate: 35,000–40,000 € | | | | | | Certainly, no less coveted among collectors is Robert Frank's shot from the Candy Store, 86th Street, which he took in 1958 for his groundbreaking book The Americans. For the photographer, who died two years ago, the group of teenagers crowded around a jukebox was one of the paradigmatic motifs with which he aptly described the US lifestyle of the 1950s like no other. OstLicht is auctioning the approximately 60-year-old, well-preserved vintage print of this photograph, which is also one of the highlights of the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (estimate: 35,000 - 40,000 €).
Additionally, the numerous exhibits from the history of Austrian photography form a focal point of the auction portfolio, which comprises a total of 181 lots and was personally curated by the gallery owner Peter Coeln. Outstanding among them is a rare edition box with 15 photographs by Ferdinand Schmutzer, including portraits of Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, and the last photograph of heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary Franz Ferdinand. The high-quality prints (estimate: 7,000 - 9,000 €) are among the most impressive works of domestic provenance and were made from original glass negatives from Schmutzer's archive, which had gone unnoticed since his death in 1928 and was rediscovered by Peter Coeln more than 20 years ago.
"With this impressive selection, even on an international level, OstLicht once again presents itself as a hub for established collectors in the 24th Photo Auction", says gallery owner Peter Coeln. "In addition, with attractive lots from the middle and lower price segments, we also offer new collectors the chance to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of photographic art".
Other highlights in the auction:
• Guerrillero Heroico, the iconic portrait of Che Guevara taken by Albterto Korda in 1960, which gained unparalleled circulation after the revolutionary's death. Prints taken directly from the negative are considered sought-after collector's items. The one to be auctioned bears Korda's handwritten dedication, which quotes Che's legendary farewell greeting in his last letter to Fidel Castro. (estimate: 4.000–5.000 €) | | | | | | | | | VALIE EXPORT (* 1940)
"Konfigurationsstudie" (configuaration study), 1973
Vintage print
29 x 39 cm
Starting price: 8,000 € / Estimate: 16,000–18,000 € | | | | | | • VALIE EXPORT’s Konfigurationsstudie (configuration study) from 1973, in which the Austrian artist positioned herself in a landscape setting and thus sought to break down patriarchal views of the female body (estimate: 16,000 - 18,000 €).
• The Varnisher published by August Sander in 1929 in his legendary work Antlitz der Zeit. The photograph is one of the best-known motifs of this groundbreaking photographic analysis of society in the Weimar Republic, with which Sander became a pioneer of conceptual photography (estimate: 10,000 - 12,000 €).
• The dancing priests (in the original title Pretini) photographed by Mario Giacomelli in 1961 for his haunting photo series Io non ho mani che mi accarezzino il volto (I have no hands to caress my face) in the seminary of Senigallia. The distinctive photograph, full of poetic intensity, has an estimate of 8,000 - 10,000 € and is offered with a starting price of 4,600 €.
• A still life with tomatoes by Heinrich Kühn from 1911, which is one of the finest motifs of this genre and ultimately made the Innsbruck-based photographer one of the most important representatives of Pictorialism (estimate: 8,000 - 10,000 €).
• Gustav Klimt, who is represented in the auction with two portraits. One is from a series of portraits taken in 1904, of which four contact prints are in the Austrian National Library. In this extremely rare print on bromide silver paper, the focused expression of the then 42-year-old painter is charmingly enhanced by the silver mirroring in the marginal zones. Research has not yet been able to definitively clarify who took the photograph, but Moriz Nähr's authorship is at least under discussion (estimate: 10,000 - 12,000 €). | | | | | | | | | LENNART NILSSON (1922–2017)
Foetus 18 weeks, 1965
Iconic photography as a platinum print
44 x 44 cm
Starting price: 4,000 € / Estimate: 7,000–9,000 € | | | | | | • The photo published by Lennart Nilsson in 1965 under the title Foetus 18 weeks on the cover of Life magazine, depicting an unborn baby that seems to float fragilely and almost transparently against a dark background. The previously unknown view and the aesthetics of the image struck a chord in the upheaval-torn 1960s and ensured that the 8 million copies of Life sold out faster than issues about the moon landing or the Kennedy assassination. This icon of photography is offered as a large-format, signed platinum print (estimate: 7,000 - 9,000 €).
• Moriz Nähr is also the photographer of the more well-known portrait of Gustav Klimt from 1917, which shows the painter in front of his studio in Hietzing’s Feldmühlgasse. Taken one year before Klimt's death, it is considered the last portrait of the exceptional artist (estimate: 8,000 - 10,000 €).
• Eleven lots from three groups of works by Franz Hubmann, in which the Austrian pioneer of modern photojournalism captured the "unvarnished life" of Artists, in the City and at Café Hawelka. With the back view of a corpulent female shopper at Brunnenmarkt, he anticipated compositional principles that he would later perfect as a highly influential photographer for the magazine magnum (estimate: 4,000 - 5,000 €).
• Five outstanding examples of actionism photography by Rudolf Schwarzkogler, which are considered among the most significant exhibits of the neo-avant-garde of the 1960s. Especially the large-format print from his key 3rd action from 1965, photographed by Ludwig Hoffenreich and printed in 1973 is considered a special rarity (estimate: 15,000 - 17,000 €).
• Chicago Demo, Tear Gas, photographed by Alfons Schilling during the street riots on the occasion of the US Democratic Party Convention at the end of August 1968. The Vienna-based (action) artist visualized the events, still controversial today, in a complex mixture of pictorial spaces in which several shots overlap. Schilling's lenticular photographs are sought-after unique pieces and are extremely rare on the market in the format offered (estimate: 30.000 - 35.000 €).
The 140-page auction catalogue contains high-quality reproductions as well as detailed descriptions of the content and history of the photographs on sale. The publication, which has become a cult object among collectors, can be ordered now for a nominal fee of 25 € here. | | | | | | | | | ALBERTO KORDA (1928-2001)
Guerrillero Heroico, Havana, 1960
Signed print in excellent condition, dated and with handwritten dedication by the photographer
35,4 x 27,9 cm
Starting price: 2.400 € / Estimated price: 4.000-5.000 € | | | | | | unsubscribe here
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© 7 Nov 2021 photo-index UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
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