Archives – May 8, 2025
Galerie Miranda x Baudoin Lebon presents a tribute to Sam Wagstaff.
Wagstaff is one of the legendary collectors of late-20th-century Photography.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the blossoming of photography and its flamboyant collectors: Thomas Walther, Pierre Apraxine, Baroness Lambert, Elton John, Manfred Heiting, Roger Thérond, and Michael Wilson.
This “The Eye Club,” coined by American historian Eugenia Parry, also included Hugues Autexier, François Braunschweig, Françoise Heilbrun, André Jammes, Gérard Lévy, Harry Lunn, Philippe Néagu, Alain Paviot, Richard Pare, Sam Wagstaff, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Daniel Wolf.
I was lucky enough to know Sam Wagstaff. I owe him some wonderful memories.
Some encounters are magical: in 1974 in London, Sotheby’s Belgravia held a charity sale for Sue Davis’s Photographer’s Gallery.
It was one of the first appearances of Philippe Garner, who would go on to become the auctioneer of the photography world for 30 years.
In the middle of the room stood a very handsome man in black.
The last image of the sale was Irving Penn’s portrait of Colette. The man raised his hand at the first bid and never lowered it.
He won it at £870. Part of the audience exclaimed: “Who is this madman who paid this ridiculous price?”
That evening, Philippe Garner invited me and this madman to dinner. The madman was Sam Wagstaff, and it was the beginning of a wonderful friendship for the three of us.
Seven years later, Sam asked me to organize a lunch with Guy Bourdin. It took place at La Lorraine in Paris, a glittering luncheon that lasted four hours.
At the end of the meal, Sam handed Guy a blank check with the words, “I know you don’t sell prints, but I’d love to own one. You can put in whatever amount you think is fair.”
Guy smiled, pushed the check aside, and gave Sam a postcard from his Charles Jourdan advertisements, available for free in the Paris metro and tobacconists.
One of the most extraordinary events I attended was the 1979 Venice Photography Festival, organized by Cornell Capa and sponsored by UNESCO.
The Who’s Who of world Photography was present and would experience eight days of festivities celebrating analog photography in all its forms.
It was during this visit that Peggy Guggenheim showed her collection to Sam Wagstaff, and since I was there, I also enjoyed it.
There was also the Roméo Martinez evening at the Roman Theater in Arles, Iwas assisting Roméo in the projection booth. The screening was sumptuous, but far too rich.
It ended around 2:00 a.m., with only a handful of spectators left; three in the front row: Sam Wagstaff, Robert Mapplethorpe and Roger Thérond.
But the fondest memory is a dinner at home.
“Sam, is it true you’re very rich?” Gédéon, 7 years old, one of my two sons, asks him. Sam smiles and replies, “Yes, I’m not poor.”
“Sam, what’s the point of being rich?” Gédéon insists.
And then, Sam’s response comes into a huge burst of laughter.
“Doing all the stupid things possible, Gédéon.”
Gédeon and Jules, his brother, adored Sam.
Jean-Jacques Naudet
Chasse aux trésors : un hommage à Sam Wagstaff
from May 8 (exceptional opening) to July 26, 2025
Galerie Miranda x Baudoin Lebon
21 rue du Chateau d’Eau
75010 Paris, France
www.galeriemiranda.com
www.baudoin-lebon.com
