Photography Auction October 18 Photographs & Photobooks Auction at Swann Auction Galleries

The October 18 Photographs & Photobooks auction by Swann Auction Galleries will include:

A Magnum Opus – A complete set of Edward S. Curtis’s rare and desirable magnum opus, The North American Indian, 1907-30, in 20 text volumes and 20 portfolios, leads the auction. This is the earliest set (#11) to be offered at auction and one of the first 25 sets reserved for J. P. Morgan, who gifted it to the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.

Nineteenth Century – Five mammoth plates by Carleton Watkins, featuring Cascade, Nevada Falls, circa 1861, and Julia Margaret Cameron’s intimate portrait Tennyson and His Sons Hallam and Lionel, 1862, are among early photographs.

Twentieth Century – Peter Beard’s sublime Charging Lion, 1964, and Malick Sidibé’s lively Suite of 25 Photographs, 1964-2001, round out a diverse selection of recent works. This section also includes photographs by Nick Brandt, Sally Mann, Marilyn Minter and Matthew Pillsbury.

Portfolios – Aaron Siskind, Walker Evans… Infrequently seen portfolios include Manuel Álvarez Bravo’s Fifteen Photographs, 1974, and the eponymous Roy De Carava, 1991, with twelve rich photogravures. A platinum print of Tina Modotti’s iconic and lush Roses, Mexico, 1924, was printed and signed in 1976 by friend and colleague Álvarez Bravo.

Vernacular Photographs – Vernacular material includes three groups of spiritualist photographs and compelling Longchamps fashion images, as well as a series of photographs that document the first detonation of a nuclear bomb.

For more information: www.swanngalleries.com/news/2018/08/a-look-inside-the-catalogue-photographs-photobooks/