Upstream of Paris Photo, Christie’s is organizing on November 5th its sale of Photographs shot here to photographers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Nearly 150 works by the major figures of photography will be proposed, such as Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Robert Mapplethorpe, Marina Abramovic, Man Ray or Brancusi…
The Photographs Department presents a collection of some of the most famous and iconic images of the 20th century, including a magnificent portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Richard Avedon, one of the most sought after works of the photographer. If Dovima with elephants sold by Christie’s in 2008 still holds the record for the artist, having attained 841,000 €, this large format portrait is both serious and touching, and represent the actress in a decor devoid of anything superfluous, should hold all the attention of collectors, (estimate: € 300,000- 500,000).
Another great master of photography, Irving Penn will also be very present. From the artist, to whom the Grand Palais devoted a retrospective in 2017, Christie’s is pleased to offer a corpus of images on the theme of still life. Accustomed to magnifying models, clothes and other consumer goods, Penn manages to sublimate the most ordinary: frozen vegetables, glasses of wine or even cigarette butts. These elements extracted from their everyday context seduce him as much as a haute-couture dress, not without criticizing American hedonism. So, Frozen Foods offers image of great modernity, in which the graphic composition and the arrangement of colors, remind on of the talents of the photographer who was also a painter (estimate: € 70,000-90,000). There are also three photographs from a famous series dedicated to Cigarette butt, in which Penn manages to infuse all his poetry, (estimate: € 25,000-35,000 each). Also on offer is the sale of Three Wines of France (€ 60,000-80,000) which presents a well-arranged orchestra of glasses and bottles, seized in movement.
Also among the artists presented are Peter Beard, Robert Mapplethorpe, Constantin Brancusi, Marina Abramovic, Sally Mann, Michael Wolf and more.
Christie’s Paris
Sale : November 5th at 4pm
Christie’s : 9 avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris
