E-Photo
Issue #247  1/16/2019
 
Skinner Photo Auction Scheduled for Boston on January 25th
Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984), Old Water Tower, San Francisco, 1961, mural-sized gelatin silver print
Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984), Old Water Tower, San Francisco, 1961, mural-sized gelatin silver print

On Friday, January 25, 2019, Skinner will present its Winter Fine Photographs auction (3203B) in Boston beginning at 10 am (with Fine Prints). The selection of photographs on offer features a range of 19th, 20th, and 21st century works by such masters as Maxime Du Camp, Edward Sheriff Curtis, Alfred Stieglitz, George Platt Lynes, Ansel Adams, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Steve McCurry, Doug and Mike Starn, Thomas Ruff, and others.

The highlights include a complete copy of Camera Work, Number 36 (1911), featuring the work of Alfred Stieglitz (lot 103, estimate $15,000-20,000), several offerings of exquisite male nudes by George Platt Lynes (lots 107-110, estimate range $1,500-5,000), and a mural-sized print of an old water tower in San Francisco from 1961 by Ansel Adams (lot 119, $8,000-12,000). Two striking black-and-white images on the block are Diane Arbus's 1960 portrait of Hezekiah Trambles, who performed as "The Jungle Creep" at New York City's Hubert Museum (lot 130, $3,000-5,000) and Richard Avedon's portrait of the sculptress Louise Nevelson from 1975 (lot 136, $4,000-6,000).

Thomas Ruff (German, b. 1958), Porträt, 1986, chromogenic print face-mounted to acrylic
Thomas Ruff (German, b. 1958), Porträt, 1986, chromogenic print face-mounted to acrylic

Additional notable lots include a 19th-century album featuring a carte-de-visite of Millie and Chrissie McKoy, conjoined twins born into slavery in North Carolina in 1851 (lot 98, $1,500-2,500) and a group of negatives and contact sheets portraying Andy Warhol made in the 1960s by fashion and editorial photographer Otto Fenn (lot 130A, $4,000-6,000).

The sale also features a number of contemporary photographs, including Mark Morrisroe's "Nympho-O-Maniac" Promo Still from 1984 (lot 138, $3,000-5,000); Steve McCurry's iconic 1984 portrait Afghan Girl (Sharbat Gula), Refugee Camp, Pakistan (lot 139, $8,000-12,000); two works of distressed photographs by Doug and Mike Starn (lots 140 and 141, $1,500-2,500 each); a large-scale work from 1986 by Thomas Ruff from his neutral background series of portraits (lot 142, $7,000-9,000); a 1990 Polaroid portrait of William Wegman by Chuck Close (lot 144, $7,000-9,000); and Nan Goldin's Kim Harlow in the Dressing Room from 1991 (lot 146, $3,000-5,000.

Additional photographers represented are Berenice Abbott, Amy Arbus, Ruth Bernhard, Brassaï, Harry Callahan, Harriet Casdin-Silver, Louis Faurer, Francis Frith, Gertrude Kasebier, Annette Lemieux, Jack Mitchell, Helmut Newton, Bonnie Porter, Aaron Siskind, Paul Strand, Willard Van Dyke, William Wegman and Garry Winogrand.

The preview for the auction will take place at 63 Park Plaza, Boston, with viewing times as follows:
Wednesday, January 23: 12 pm-5 pm
Thursday, January 24: 12 pm-8 pm
Auction is on Friday, 10 am. All times are EST.

For more information regarding the auctions, please contact the American and European Works of Art department at 1-508-970-3206 or photographs@skinnerinc.com. The auction can also be viewed online at: https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/fine-photographs-3203b/. To order a printed catalogue, please email subscriptions@skinnerinc.com, or call 1-508-970-3240.