You’ll want to save these dates for this year’s Annual 19th-century Photography Conference and related events presented by the Daguerreian Society: Oct. 19-23, 2016. Most of the various events will be held at the newly refurbished Wyndham New Yorker Hotel on 8th Avenue in New York City near Penn Station. (For sake of transparency, I am the New York Program Committee Chair for these events.)
This is expected to be the largest and most important series of events on daguerreotypes and other 19th-century photography in the world this year. Plus a special symposium on how 19th-century photography and processes influence today’s photography and artists is a must for all collectors, galleries and curators, as well as for all photographers using antiquarian processes.
It will be easy to attend from wherever you are with direct access from nearly any place in the U.S. or international location to one of the three nearby international airports.
You can register online now, and even reserve your hotel rooms at the special conference rates here: http://www.wyndham.com. But be sure to register for the Annual Conference and Pre-conference Symposium as well (details below). If you are a Society member, make sure you sign in as a member first to get the discounted member rates for those programs. Joining the Society isn’t a bad idea, since you can save so much on the programs, plus get all the other benefits of membership. You can sign up here: https://daguerre.site-ym.com.
PRE-CONFERENCE SYMPOSIUM
A one-day symposium on “How the 19th-century Is the Basis for All Subsequent Photographic Art” will be held on Oct. 20th in the Grand Ballroom of the Wyndham. This special program will feature a panel session with top contemporary artists discussing how 19th-century photography and its processes have influenced their work, and presentations by curators and collectors on why they include 19th-century photography along with modern photography in their collections. Prices for the one-day program, which includes the Grand Reception afterwards with heavy hors-d’oeuvres, are: $99 for the early bird rate for members and $109 for non-members, and $125 and $135 respectively after 9/30/2016
Sarah Greenough from the National Gallery of Art will moderate the leadoff panel of top artists, including Vera Lutter, Adam Fuss, Jerry Spagnoli and another top artist to be announced.
The afternoon session continue with the theme.
Former Sotheby’s Chairman of the New York Photographs Department Denise Bethel speaking on, “How contemporary art photography and photography collecting are influenced by 19th-century photography and processes, and why this is Important to you as a collector or curator.”
There will be interviews with several of the world’s top photography collectors on this topic. Former theoretical physicist and major photography collector Michael Mattis will give a talk on: “Silver Meditations: Cross-currents in the History of Photography from the Mattis-Hochberg Collection.”
Collector and Producer of the James Bond Movies, Michael Wilson, along with his curator, will talk about: “Why I collect 19th-century Photography through Contemporary Photography, and How 19th-century Photography has influenced my Contemporary Choices.”
Symposium attendees are also welcome to join Conference attendees at the Grand Reception that evening in the Grand Ballroom at the Wyndham. Their badges will also get them into the 19th-century Photography Show on Saturday. Howard Greenberg Gallery will also have a related special exhibit of contemporary art using antiquarian photography methods, curated by Jerry Spagnoli. A reception at the gallery is planned for Friday night, Oct. 21st. The Grand Reception will also offer a selection of items on Silent Auction that night.
To register for the pre-conference symposium program, sign in as a member first, and then click on the events tab at the top of the Daguerreian Society’s web page. Click on the Pre-conference Symposium item and it will take you to the page to register online. You can also contact Diane Filippi in the Society headquarters office if you have any problems. For non-members, go directly to: http://www.daguerre.org.
ANNUAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE
Prices for the Annual Conference program, which doesn’t include the pre-conference Symposium, but includes the Thursday night Grand Reception, Optional Tours, the Conference Program, and the Saturday Dinner and Cocktail Party, are: $250 for the early bird rate for members and $300 non-members, and $275 and $325 respectively after 8/31/2016.
The main Annual Conference on 19th-century Photography itself will begin with tours on Wednesday, Oct. 19th (tours are also planned for Sunday, Oct. 23) and a Grand Reception on Thursday night, Oct. 20th. The full-day speakers’ program on 19th-century photography will take place on Friday, Oct. 21st.
To register for the Conference program, sign in as a member first, and then click on the events tab at the top of the Daguerreian Society’s web page, which you can find here: http://www.daguerre.org. Click on “Annual Conference” and it will take you to the page to register online. You can also contact Diane Filippi in the headquarters office if you have any problems.
The Annual Conference will kick off with a keynote address on 19th-century Photography by Jeffrey Rosenheim at 8:45 in the Grand Ballroom. Rosenheim has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 25 years, and is Curator in Charge of the department of photographs. He is a specialist in American photography and was the curator of the Met’s lauded 2013 traveling exhibition Photography and the American Civil War. Rosenheim is the author or co-author of some 20 photography books. A frequent lecturer in the U.S. and abroad, he has taught the history of photography and studio art at Columbia University, the Institute of Fine Arts (NYU), Cooper Union, and Bard College.
The keynote will be followed by a morning panel session moderated by Keith Davis, Nelson-Atkins Museum. The session is entitled “Battle of the Century—19th, That Is. The Part That Each of the Early Pioneers Really Played in the Development of Photography: Niepce, Daguerre, Talbot and Bayard.” Panelists include Stephen Pinson, Curator of Photography for the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art (Daguerre); Dusan Stulik, Scientist (Niepce and Daguerre); Larry Schaaf (Talbot); Nancy Keeler, Boston Museum of Art (Bayard).
Most of the rest of the morning and the afternoon sessions will offer a choice of two breakout sessions for conference attendees.
Choice of Breakout Sessions
–The Ruskin Daguerreotypes, Ken Jacobson. (Grand Ballroom)
–A Lifetime in Collecting Daguerreotypes, Chuck Swedlund (Crystal Ballroom)
Choice of Breakout Sessions
–Determining When and What Photography Conservation Is Needed, and How Effective It Might Be in Some Typical Situations for 19th-Century Photography, Including How to Do Some Basic Work Yourself, Gawain Weaver, Conservator. (Grand Ballroom)
–On the 30th Anniversary of the Shimshak Collection show, Robert F. Johnson (Crystal Ballroom)
Choice of Breakout Sessions
–Mega collector Thomas Walther interviewed by Denise Bethel: “Why This Former Modernist Collector Has Turned His Passion to 19th-century Photography,” plus a selection of some of Walther’s favorite 19th-century images in his collection (Grand Ballroom)
— An Early German Lady Photographer in New York, Hans Gummersbach (Crystal Ballroom)
Choice of Breakout Sessions:
–Member’s Favorite Story about a 19th-century Photograph. Michael Lehr moderator (Grand Ballroom)
–The Circle of Talbot, Larry Schaaf (Crystal Ballroom)
Choice of Breakout Sessions:
— FAKE! Avoiding Fakes, Counterfeits, Doctored and Misrepresented Pieces, Copies and Misidentifications in 19th-Century Photographs, Mike Medhurst (Grand Ballroom)
–Buying 19th-century Photography at Auction. Alex Novak, moderator. Panelists include: Daile Kaplain of Swann Galleries, and Wes Cowan, Cowan Auctions. (Crystal Ballroom)
Choice of Breakout Sessions:
–Evidence—The Tendency to Reposition Images into Current Aesthetic Contexts, Keith Davis. (Grand Ballroom)
–The Mission Heliographique and How It Influenced 19th-Century Documentary Photography, Malcolm Daniel, Senior Curator of the Museum of Art, Houston (Crystal Ballroom)
The group will gather back into the Grand Ballroom for the final session and the Society Business Meeting: afterwards:
Nineteenth-Century Photographs of Eastern American Landscapes, Diane Waggoner, National Gallery of Art. (Grand Ballroom)
FRIDAY NIGHT RECEPTIONS
Friday Night: Receptions (7:00-10 pm):
–Hans Kraus Gallery: A 19th-century photography exhibit to be announced
–Howard Greenberg Gallery: Modern Practitioners of 19th-Century Processes
THE 19TH-CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW
On Saturday, Oct. 22nd, The 19th-Century Photography Show will be open to all Conference attendees beginning with the early bird opening at 9:15 am. But anyone can come to the show after paying a small fee of $20 ($10 for students with school IDs). Early bird entrance to non-conference attendees is $45.
This will be the largest for-sale exhibition of 19th-century photography any where, comprised of over 80 tables and—for the first time ever–14 exhibit booths, and with well over 70 exhibitors, including most of the top 19th-century photography dealers in the world. This one-day event will be open to all. For advanced registration for this show (tickets also available at the door), click here. International exhibitors from England, Ireland, Argentina, France, Germany, Denmark and Canada will join top U.S. dealers here.
Booth exhibitors currently include:
–Hans Kraus, Jr.
–James Hyman Gallery
–Howard Greenberg Gallery
–Lee Gallery
–Alan Klotz Gallery
–Peter Fetterman Gallery
–Charles Schwartz, Ltd.
–Serge Plantureux
–William Schaeffer
–Vintage Works, Ltd.
–Janet Lehr, Inc.
–Philippe Doublet
–19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop
Contact Alex Novak at 1-215-822-5662 or [email protected], for details on exhibiting and/or Event sponsorships. Tabletop space and most booths are already sold out for this show. You can be placed on a backup list in case of last minute cancellations.
ANNUAL COCKTAIL PARTY/BANQUET
Following The 19th-Century Photography Show and on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 22nd, the Society will have its annual cocktail party and banquet, followed by the Society’s live auction. The cocktail party will be held in the mezzanine exhibit booth area and in the Foyer and Crystal Ballrooms. The items in the auction will be viewable during the entire day on Saturday, including the cocktail hour, in the Crystal Ballroom. The buffet banquet itself will be held in the Grand Ballroom, followed by the live auction.
ANNUAL LIVE AND INTERNET AUCTION
This year’s auction will also be held on the evening of Saturday, October 22nd, immediately following the banquet dinner. This year marks the first time that bidders will be able to use the Internet to bid live against the floor bidders. The Daguerreian Society expects to have many top collectors, dealers and curators in attendance, so the bidding should be fierce for some very good photography items.
CONSIGNMENTS. Quality consignments are welcomed. The Society is especially looking for consignments that will realize a hammer price of $2,500 or more.
DONATIONS. All donations are very welcome. Donations with a value of $500 or more will be placed in the live auction. All other donations will be acknowledged and will be placed in the silent auction.
The Society encourage photographic-related material in all formats, and from all time periods, particularly items relating to 19th-century photography and its processes. Often contemporary art photographs that use antiquarian processes are also included in the auction.
TERMS FOR CONSIGNMENTS: The Society is very selective regarding consignments, to ensure a quality auction and reasonable estimates. The purpose is to raise needed money for the Society and provide entertainment and quality images for its membership. Please send scans and/or descriptions of proposed consignments to Greg French at [email protected], or call 1-617-522-3610.
Once approved, consignments can be shipped directly to: Greg French, P.O. Box 302283, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Insurance and/or tracking are recommended.
All correspondence is confidential. The Society uses the utmost discretion with all of its consignors and commission bidders.
SELLER’S COMMISSION OF 10%. Likewise, this benefits The Daguerreian Society and is in line with the norm.
BUY-IN FEE OF 5%. This only applies to items auctioned with reserves that are applied and not met. The normal buy-in fee for lots unsold is 5% of the reserve, for instance if a consignor reserves an item for $3,000 and it is unsold, the fee will be $150. The auction has an extremely high sell through rate.
TOURS
Photography-oriented tours are planned for Wednesday, Oct. 19th and Sunday, Oct. 23rd. Several tours are already planned and several more are in the planning process. One will feature a special guided tour of the Auguste Salzmann exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another will include a visit to the Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg photography collection, featuring many of their amazing 19th-century photographs and daguerreotypes. Space will be very limited on these tours and you must sign up in advance to be included.
HOW TO JOIN AND/OR REGISTER FOR THE PROGRAMS
For more information on membership in the Society and this year’s 19th-century Photography events, go to its new website here: http://www.daguerre.org. You can register and pay online. Members need to be signed in to get the member rates for the programs. If you plan on joining, it is best to do that first before registering for one or more of the events. You do not need to join to register for any of the programs, but members do get a discount.
