New York Photographs and Posters in 400th City Anniversary Auction
Ernst Haas, Yellow Cab, chromogenic print, 1952, printed 2017. Estimate $3,000 to $4,500
The work of Margaret Bourke-White, Berenice Abbott, William Klein, Anthony Barboza, and Ernst Haas feature in Swann Galleries' The New York Sale held today.
Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of New York City, features drawings, books, maps and autographs as well as posters for iconic city events like the early editions of the New York Film Festival, plus street-style photographs and prints celebrating NYC life in all its glory.
Among those featured are:
* Margaret Bourke-White, the first female photographer hired for Fortune and Life magazines. Her 1930 toned silver print The Chrysler Building under construction (estimate: $30,000 - $45,000) was the result of a commission by the Chrysler Corporation to photograph their new skyscraper while it was still under construction.
* Berenice Abbott, whose silver print New York at Night, 1932, printed 1980s (estimate $10,000 - $15,000) was inspired by Eugène Atget’s photographs of Paris. She published her landmark book Changing New York in 1939.
* William Klein, represented in the sale by Dolores wants a Taxi, New York (Vogue), chromogenic print, 1958, printed 2021 (estimate $10,000 - $15,000). His first photobook was Life is Good and Good for You in New York (1956).
* Anthony Barboza, who chroncled Black American culture and the Harlem scene in works such as Harlem (for Essence Magazine), a 1971 silver print, 1971 (estimate $2,000 - $3,000)
* Ernst Haas, a color photography pioneer who used a slow shutter speed for a sense of movement and vitality. Haas’ Magic Images of New York, a 24-page color photo essay that appeared in Life in 1951, was both his and the magazine's first long color feature in print.
