The collection of the Art Institute of Chicago covers a large part of the history of photography, featuring the work of many renowned photographers. It opened 1949, when Georgia O’Keeffe donated the Alfred Stieglitz collection. The later acquisition of Julien Levy’s collection, followed by a donation of more than 200 Edward Weston photographs, as well as work by Paul Strand, Eugène Atget and André Kertèsz, have made the collection one of the world’s largest.
The auction will be divided into two sessions. The first includes work by classic photographers like Bill Brandt (Lot 23) and Edward Weston (Lot 62), followed by contemporary photographers like Richard Avedon (146), Stephen Shore (Lot 138), Erwin Blumenfeld, Irving Penn (Lot 101) and Robert Mapplethorpe (Lot 106).
The second session will have 200 lots for sale with a total estimated value ranging from £1.7m ($2.6m) to £2.4m ($3.7m). It features photographs from the 20th and 21st centuries, on the border between classic and contemporary, with big names and lesser-known artists who will benefit from the reputations of the former.
This season, Phillips London is offering a new category in the sale, ULTIMATE, which gives collectors the opportunity to purchase the last available print of a piece. For the launch of ULTIMATE, Phillips London has gone “contemporary” with Guido Mocafico, who will be presenting Serpens (Lot 198), a set of six photographs taken in 2002 and 2003, with an estimated value between £60,000 and £80,000.
AUCTION
Photographs from the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
Tuesday November 18th 2014 at 2pm
Philips
30 Berkeley Square
Londores W1J 6EX
United Kingdom
+ 44 207 318 4018
