The Peter Fetterman curated photography auction is taking place at Bonhams on December 17th, both in person in New York and online globally.
With iconic images of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Barack Obama, John Lennon, the Queen, Twiggy, Paul McCartney, Audrey Hepburn and many more available.
Coupled with this are wonderful fashion editorial imagery, city skylines and much more from iconic photographers such as Louis Stettner, Sabine Weiss, Jerry Schatzberg, Berenice Abbott, Norman Parkinson, Arthur Elgort and many more.
It is a truly wonderful, feel good & upbeat photo auction aptly entitled ‘A Wonderful Life’. A first in the photography world, a pure photo holiday auction.
In attempt to get away from the art world elitism which bugs Peter, he wanted to curate a more accessible auction with great photos at affordable/reasonable price points in general and also for the holidays.
Bonhams were really keen to support this vision, with great master prints from Peter’s archive starting at $1000 upwards.
Peter Fetterman in conversation with Laura Paterson
Laura Paterson: What brought you to a career in photography, in California rather than in the UK?
Peter Fetterman: “I moved to California in 1979 to pursue my career as a film producer. I had produced a couple of independent films in the UK, including one called The Haunting of Julia, with Mia Farrow, but it was always a struggle to raise money and I was tired of the negativity. I accidentally bought my first photo soon after I arrived in LA, for $400. It was a Max Yavno image called Premier at Carthay Circle. It seemed to embody my professional aspirations at the time. I must have been insane to do it, as I had at the time a total net worth of $2,000, and I was driving a beat-up car with suspect brakes. If I were sane, I would have spent the money on new brakes, but I was smitten with this image. This first purchase changed my life. It led me on a path to discover the power of photography, and the joy of collecting. I ended up producing a film for MGM with Luciano Pavarotti, which turned into a nightmare, seeing all my creative ideas totally compromised by a heavy handed studio system. Collecting photos became my therapy from this life, and I decided to switch careers to be surrounded by the images I loved, where I could be in control of my own taste. I started out as a private dealer in a small rent-controlled apartment, and I have never looked back.”
LP: What photographers continue to inspire you after such a long and successful career in the business?
PF: “I have so many favorite photographers. It is really hard to name just one. So many of my favorites are in this auction: There is only one word to describe the work of Irving Penn (lot 58) Two Guedras. Just “Sublime”. Ansel Adams (lots 65, 98), Thurston Hopkins (lots 14, 39), Sebastiao Salgado (lots 16, 84, 118), Ruth Bernhard (lots 69, 94, 116), Pentti Sammallahti (lots 18, 27, 100, 106), Paul Caponigro (lots
93, 101), George Tice (lots 10, 42, 103), Horst P. Horst (lots 35, 72, 87), Flor Garduno (lot 91), Bert Hardy (Lots 32, 52, 58), Kristopher Albrecht
(lot 40), Willy Ronis (lots 25, 51, 71, 110), and Lillian Bassman (lots 37, 64). I think this auction is full of great photographers whose works are still under-appreciated and for that reason, completely under-valued. That’s why I have collected their work in depth.”
LP: What advice would you give to new collectors who are browsing the sale?
PF: “I think there are only two rules to collecting. Only buy what you love and only buy from someone or a company you trust and have a rapport with.”
LP: What draws you to photography, as opposed to other mediums?
PF: “Photography has always drawn me in as the medium to collect for two reasons. One, its immediacy. Two, because it is the most affordable of all the art mediums. It’s the only medium in the art market that give you the opportunity to buy the same piece as The Getty Museum or MoMA NY. I’d love to buy a great Modigliani, but I don’t have a spare $50 million + lying around. But I can still buy a really great photograph made by an important artist for $1,000 +. It’s democratic in that sense.”
LP: What photographs do you fill your home with? What kinds of images do you like to see daily?
PF: “I’m attracted to images of beauty and style, and images that confirm the joy of being alive, hence the name of the auction A Wonderful Life.
When I see an image like Paul Caponigro’s Two Pears (lot 93), or Weegee’s Harlem Sunday (lot 80), or Thurston Hopkin’s La Dolce Vita (lot 14), or Allen Ginsberg’s Neal Cassidy and His Love (lot 109), I just feel better.”
LP: Why this selection for Bonhams?
PF: “I feel a bit like Billy Graham. I’m an evangelist for the power of photography to change lives, as it has mine, and I want to share my love of the images I’ve selected with as large an audience as possible. With new “converts,” so to speak. I want this new audience to feel the same joy these photos have given me. Bonhams is a well-respected global company and it seemed perfect sense to partner. We each bring different skills to the relationship.”
LP: Is there a particular era in photography that you love?
PF: “I think one of my favorite periods is the 1950s, where there was a surge of Post World War optimism, after the austerity and hardship of the war. An image that captures this renewed hope is Cornell Capa’s stunning Bolshoi Ballet (lot 1). He was the first Western photographer to be allowed to photograph inside the sacred ballet company. Louis Stettner’s Girl Playing in Light Circles (lot 2) shows the old Penn Station before the beautiful structure was torn down. We were instrumental in getting these beautiful images published for the first time.”
LP: What photographers do you feel deserve more attention?
PF: “One of the most rewarding aspects of collecting is making new discoveries on your collecting journey. Recent highlights have been the rediscovery of Jerry Schatzberg’s elegant fashion work with photographs Betsy Pickering (lot 6) and Halloween Party (lot 50), and his seminal body of work on Bob Dylan (lot 78), where he has turned Dylan into a Byron-esque figure. One of the most important and joyful discoveries for me in my whole career has been the work of the great Finnish photographer Pentti Sammallahti (lots 18, 27, 100, 106). We all came across his work when the great Henri Cartier Bresson included his Dog on Motorbike, Solovki (lot 106) in the exhibition that opened the Bresson Foundation in 2003 in Paris. To my mind he is one of the best “buys” in the whole of the photo market. The prints are so beautiful and humbly priced. Bert Hardy’s Maidens in Waiting (lot 32) was another good find. Bert worked for the English equivalent of LIFE Magazine, at a publication called Picture Post where his good friend and fellow photo journalist Thurston Hopkins worked (lot 39). Both are totally underrated photographers. I found the work of Fred Lyon several years back, and I have championed his work ever since. I saw Lyon’s image Foggy Night (lot 49) and thought that I had to meet this photographer. He is 95 years old now and has the best archive of classic San Francisco images extant. Georges Dambier (lot 26) was a contemporary of Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, and worked for French Elle during the 50s. Sabine Weiss (lots 3, 20, 48, 104), at 95 years old, still inspires me.”
LP: With the holidays on the horizon, what might one want to consider when gifting a photograph to someone?
PF: “I think giving a photo as a holiday gift is just so special. It shows the recipient how much care and thought you have taken to make the final choice, how sensitive you are as to what makes them so important to you.”
LP: What key components does a good photograph possess for you?
PF: “It is simple for me to say what makes a great photo. You are one person before you see a great photo, and a different person after you have experienced it.”
A Wonderful Life : Photographs from the Peter Fetterman Collection
Sale Number 25603
Bonham’s
Tuesday December 17, 2019 at 10am
580 Madison Avenue, New York
