Auctions | June 27, 2013

Freeman’s to Sell Photographs from the Avon Collection of Women Artists

June 2013 — Philadelphia, PA — Freeman’s is pleased to announce that it will offer photographs from the art collection of global beauty products company Avon. More than 90 lots will compose a featured section in Freeman’s auction of Photographs & Photobooks including Works from the Avon Collection on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of ‘Works from the Avon Collection’ will benefit the Avon Foundation for Women, the company’s charitable organization dedicated to breast cancer research and ending domestic violence. Significant works by Imogen Cunningham, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Berenice Abbott, and Cindy Sherman as well as other prominent female photographers will be included in the auction. “This collection covers a wide breadth of subject matter from landscapes to fashion photography to intimate portraiture. There is something that will appeal to everyone from the novice to the serious collector,” said Freeman’s Photographs & Photobooks department head Aimee Pflieger.

Built around the thesis of “Beauty through the eyes of women,” the Avon Collection is comprised of modern and contemporary photographs, sculpture, paintings and other works on paper and is currently housed at the Avon U.S. and global headquarters in New York. “The Avon art collection represents many impressive female artists and we are happy to partner with Freeman’s to share these significant pieces of work,” said Sheri McCoy, Chief Executive Officer of Avon. “In continuing with our efforts of empowering women and supporting the global community, the company will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Avon Foundation for Women, to continue our crusade against breast cancer research and our campaign to end domestic violence.”

The 90+ lots offered as ‘Works from the Avon Collection’ span six decades and feature pieces created solely by female artists. World-renowned photographer Sandi Fellman, whose work has been collected by numerous institutions, including The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, La Bibliothèque Nationale, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and The Houston Museum of Art; and Shelley Rice, an internationally recognized art historian, Guggenheim Fellow, NYU faculty member, and author, curated the collection. It was exhibited, in its entirety, at the International Center for Photography.

Founded in 1886, Avon is one of America’s first companies to pioneer empowering wwomen. “Freeman’s and Avon benefited from entrepreneurial founders and both companies continue to share and celebrate the founding principles of service and responsibility to both clients and employees,” commented Samuel M. Freeman, II, Chairman.