I was thinking of a subject to write about when an e-mail alert arrived from Sotheby’s about their upcoming auction. It will close tomorrow, April 3, but you can still view the photographs in the auction.
And what a collection it is! You will see works from well-known masters like Walker Evans, Irving Penn, Aaron Siskind. There are also many you might not have heard of before. I am posting these images to whet your appetite as I write for permission to use them from Sotheby’s. If they do not allow me to use the sample photographs, I will remove them, but you can always see the collection on their site. It is worth a visit.
The auction site is open to view the collection and also for bidding. If you have some extra time, you can search, find, and download a PDF copy of their catalog if you like. The print versions are of great quality, and I have collected close to 20 of them over the years. After the auction ends, the catalogs sell on eBay at affordable prices. That too is worth considering.
Here is a very brief preview.
Birds of America – John J. Audubon
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James Turner
Thanks for posting. I thoroughly enjoyed those images. #132 compared to you Flora image is interesting. Also Irving Penn does not disappoint. Especially like the Old Gold cigarettes. Lastly Mapplethorpe #196 Calla Lilly was mesmerizing to me.
A. Cemal Ekin
I am very glad you enjoyed those works. They are all good from different perspectives and for learning different things. More to come, somehow!
Cemal
Haluk Atamal
They didn’t have 64GB memory cards; neither 350 gram machines.. The results never popped up on the groundglass. They were unique people.
Thanks for sharing Cemal. Very much appreciated indeed.
Stay healthy!
Haluk
A. Cemal Ekin
Your comment reminded me of one I wrote a few days ago on an article talking about old lenses. I said:
To rephrase the expression “perfection is the enemy of the good” we can say “sharpness is the enemy of good photography.” Not that sharp photographs are not good but simply looking for sharpness in photography misses a lot.
And, the Sotheby’s collection underlines this idea as they are not as “sharp” as many today expect. You are right, they are very delightful to view.
Take care,
Cemal
Sal Capirchio
Cemal-Thank you so much for sharing these! I know that you have a bunch of these photographers books, and have read a lot about them. I spent some time looking through “Depression Era” photos WOW!!! Such great depictions of that era. I know this might sound like a stupid question, but I was curious, do you know if “any’ of these photographers handled the post-processing in similar ways like Ansel Adams. My point is, I’m (somewhat) familiar with Ansels’ post work in the dark room-his dodging / burning, treatment, emulsions, etc. Do you know if of these great folks, did something similar. Not sure if some of the colorization changes are do to age, or if they were treated to appear that way?
Thanks again for sharing-(Back to viewing some more!)
Sal
A. Cemal Ekin
Sal, I am glad you found them as enjoyable as I did and do. Not all depression-era photographers did their darkroom work. I remember reading somewhere that Dorothea Lange sent a bunch of films to be processed and printed to FSA and was quite nervous that she did not get them back after a long time. It turned out that it was an unexpected delay, I’m sure she said “phew!”
Stay tuned! Stay home! Stay safe!
Cemal