Irving Penn's "Cuzco Children" Could Bring $150K at Heritage Auctions' June 5 Auction
Dallas, Texas - A powerful image by American photographer Irving Penn could bring as much as $150,000 in Heritage Auctions’ Photographs Auction June 5 in New York.
“This auction has an exceptional array of works by outstanding photographers,” Heritage Auctions Photographs Director Nigel Russell said. “The sale features masterworks from the Sato Collection by Penn, Avedon, Newton, Herb Ritts and others. Several of the lots are rare images from limited editions that rarely appear at auction, making them even more appealing to serious collectors.”
Irving Penn Cuzco Children, Peru, December, 1948 (est. $100,000-150,000) is a platinum-palladium image, flush-mounted to aluminum. It is signed, titled, dated and editioned “40/60” with a “1428” notation in pencil with the Penn Condé Nast copyright credit reproduction limitation stamp, and stamped “In addition to 60 numbered prints of this image in platinum metals, unnumbered, but signed silver prints not exceeding a total of 30 may exist” on verso. The 60-year-old image of two children from the city in the Peruvian Andes Mountains measures 19-1/2 by 20-1/4 inches.
Helmut Newton Saddle I, Paris (at the Hotel Lancaster), 1976 (est. $50,000-70,000) is a striking work by German-Australian fashion photographer Helmut Newton, who was known for erotically charged black and white photos that were featured frequently in numerous publications. The 12-by-18-1/4-inch gelatin silver image is signed by the photographer and printer, and titled and dated in pencil with the photographer’s copyright stamp on verso.
Another image expected to fare well in the auction is Irving Penn Guedras in the Wind, Morocco, 1971 (est. $30,000-50,000). Penn’s 40-year-old platinum-palladium image is signed, titled, dated, annotated and editioned “18/32” in pencil with the photographer’s copyright stamp on verso.
Already drawing significant pre-auction interest is Richard Avedon Dovima with Elephants, Evening Dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, 1955 (est. $30,000-50,000). This stunning 8-by-10-inch gelatin silver contact print of the elegant woman standing between two pachyderms is signed and editioned “46/100” in pencil with the photographer’s copyright stamp on verso.
Ansel Adams Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, 1937 (est. $25,000-35,000) is a breathtaking photo by Adams, the renowned American photographer and environmentalist whose black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite, have enjoyed massive success when reproduced in books, on posters and calendars, and on the internet. This gelatin silver image is signed in pencil mount recto and titled in ink in the photographer’s stamp mount verso.
Other top lots include, but are not limited to:
· David Yarrow Mankind, Yirol, South Sudan, 2014: est. $20,000-30,000
· Julia Margaret Cameron Paul and Virginia, circa 1865: $20,000-30,000
· Herb Ritts Floating Torso, St. Barthélemy, 1987: $15,000-25,000
· Robert Mapplethorpe Poppy, 1988: $15,000-25,000
· Lewis Carroll Study of Alexandra 'Xie' Kitchin, 1874: est. $15,000-25,000
· Helmut Newton Tied-up Torso, Ramatuelle, 1980: est. $15,000-25,000
The auction also includes the largest group of Jerry Uelsmann photographs to appear at auction. The collection of 56 images by Uelsmann, a photomontage pioneer who mastered the art of merging multiple photos into stunning single images where the combinations are so seamless that his works have been referred to as “Photoshop before there was Photoshop.” Among the top Uelsmann images in the auction:
· Jerry Uelsmann Untitled (Philosopher's Desk), 1976 (est. $2,500-3,500)
· Jerry Uelsmann Apocalypse II, 1967 (est. $2,000-3,000)
· Untitled (Nude and river), 1992 (est. $2,000-3,000)
· Untitled (House and roots), 1982 (est. $2,000-3,000)
· Animal Dream, 1978 ($1,500-2,500)
· Untitled (Woman in cloth), 1991 (est. $1,500-2,500)
· Untitled (Kadzu), 1982 (est. $1,500-2,500)
· Untitled (Roman tile), 1993 (est. $1,500-2,500)
