FEATURES ARCHIVE

Spend an hour with Matthieu Humery and it’s hard not to absorb some of his sheer passion for and vast knowledge of the field of photography. Libby Addington recently caught up with the Parisian-born head of the New York Photographs department to learn more about the course of his career, which living photographer he most admires, and his weekly pilgrimage to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where he looks at more than just photographs).

What first sparked your interest in photography?
As a child, I was always fascinated by the concept of time travel. My dream job growing up was to be an archaeologist by day—to learn about the past; and an astronomer by night—to learn about space, our future. The study of photography was a natural progression from there, because for me it brings together the past, present and future. In a way, a camera is a tool for time travel and exploration—for exploring places, emotions, habits, dreams.

How did your early professional experiences evolve into your current position at Christie’s?
I spent one formative summer working at the Bibliothèque Nationale, where I helped catalogue the archives of 19th century French photographer André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri. While I was also working in the fashion industry at that time, my interest in photography grew dramatically after that summer. I started seeking out every gallery, auction and museum exhibition I could find that related to photography, and I went on to obtain my Masters Degrees in Art History and Archaeology from the Sorbonne. Before joining Christie’s in 2007, I worked as a specialist in Photographs, Contemporary Art and 20th Century Design for another auction house, as well as consulted with the Magnum Agency and the Luma Foundation.

In today’s world, anyone can “be” a photographer. What qualities separate an amateur from a master?
Alors, everyone may know how to take a picture, but not everyone is a photographer! It’s the same as painting, as sculpting, the same as any other art form. Do you have a vision? That vision is what transforms the amateur into the artist.

The four upcoming photographs sales will offer everything from 19th century primitive photographs to fashion images from the 1970s and contemporary abstract photographs. What are you most excited to share with your collectors?
What interests me most, beyond a particular genre, is our ability to bring together and exhibit such an incredible variety of imagery. The juxtaposition of two images can be very powerful, and we always curate our presale exhibitions with this in mind. For example, you can pair Eugène Atget’s extraordinary Saint Cloud (1922) with Lise Sarfati’s Sloane #12 (2005) and find something very interesting in the comparison. In the former, there is no trace of human presence, and the viewer feels the loneliness of the photographer in this empty space. In comparison, the figure in the latter, with her downcast gaze and look of despair, imparts that same sense of loneliness, this time on the part of the subject. Two works separated by nearly 100 years capture some similar sense of this emotion. It’s that same idea of time travel that I mentioned earlier.

What living photographer do you most admire?
Irving Penn, the “last Emperor” of photography. He has been everywhere, seen everyone, and at 93 he is still active in his profession, with the same degree of perfection. I find that incredibly admirable.

What is your motto?
The first is by French poet Gerard de Nerval: L’experience de chacun est le trésor de tous (“The experience of each is the treasure of all”). The second is my own: Soit curieux de tout (“Be curious of everything”).