Auction 154 Modern and Contemporary Photographs

Hiroshi Sugimoto. Fagus Shoe Last Factory. 1998. Gelatin silver print. 23 x 18 1/2 in.

On May 29, 2008, Villa Grisebach will begin this year’s spring sales with a photography auction that will include approximately 300 classic and contemporary photographs.

A special emphasis has been placed on rare and extraordinary Vintage German photographs from the 20th Century, e.g. a large print by Aenne Biermann titled „Anthurie“ (1927-29) from the Estate of the artist (6,000 – 8,000 euros), a composition with nude as a light-montage enlarged through silk by Heinz Hajek-Halkes, 1930-36 (4,000 – 6,000 euros), Edmund Kesting’s „Aschermittwoch 1945“ (Ash Wednesday 1945) from the series „Totentanz“ (Dance of Death) (4,000 – 6,000 euros) or Otto Steinert’s „Pont Neuf, Paris“ from 1949 (6,000 – 8,000 euros).

Further highlights of classic photography are, among others, Martin Munkácsi’s „Leni Riefenstahl beim Skilaufen“ (Leni Riefenstahl skiing) from 1930-31 (10,000 – 15,000 euros), Paul Strand’s „St. Hippolyte“ from 1950 (10,000 – 15,000 euros), Horst P. Horst’s „American Nude“  (8,000 – 10,000 euros), four „Wassertürme“ (Watertowers) by Bernd and Hilla Becher (8,000 – 10,000 euros), Behn Shahn’s „A deputy with a gun on his hip during the Sept. 1935 strike in Morgantown, West Virginia“ (6,000 – 9,000 euros) or Roman Vishniac’s „Warsaw“ from 1937 (6,000 – 8,000 euros). Many other well known photographers are featured in the sale, like Hans Bellmer, Andreas Feininger, André Kertesz, Albert Renger-Patzsch and August Sander, but interesting discoveries can also be made, e.g. with the portfolio „Africa Orientale Italiana“ by Georg Schultze from 1939 or a portrait of Lilian Seeley (a large waxed gum print) by George H. Seeley (5,000 – 7,000 euros) from 1910.

Highlights from the Contemporary photography selection are Peter Lindbergh’s Portfolio from 2001 with 10 Platinum-Palladium-Prints of his most famous images (42,000 – 48,000 euros), followed by Hiroshi Sugimoto’s „Fagus Shoe Last Factory – Walter Gropius“ (14,000 – 16,000 euros), William Eggleston’s Dye Transfer „Dust Bells, Green Bureau“ (12,000 – 15,000 euros) and Tracey Moffatt’s „Something More #5“ (10,000 – 15,000 euros). Furthermore, outstanding photos are featured by Robert Mapplethorpe, Sarah Moon, Shirin Neshat, Helmut Newton, Bettina Rheims and Jörg Sasse.