FEATURES ARCHIVE

Offering works from three important single owner collections, this month’s Photographs sale represents a remarkable prospect for collectors of all levels to benefit from the experience of these esteemed tastemakers and connoisseurs.

AMERICAN COLOR

The Collection: Amassed over the past 18 years, Bruce and Nancy Berman’s collection showcases the richness and universal appeal of American color photography. Representing works from 1955 to the present day, the collection champions major artists who were influenced by the American landscape and who have contributed to the transformation of the genre of color photography. Photographers including Joel Sternfeld, Robert Polidori, Stephen Shore and Lise Sarfati are featured in the sale.

The Inspiration: Drawn to the subject matter of ordinary life, from churches to billboards and main streets to small towns, the Bermans collected works by photographers who are united in their shared passion for their country.

The Work: Charting the demise of his hometown of Holyoke, Massachusetts following a fire in1999, this image by Mitch Epstein comes from his epic series, Family Business. Returning to Holyoke in the midst of the collapse of his father’s store, Epstein embarked on a photographic journey to understand his father’s failed American dream and the simultaneous decline of Holyoke itself.

INSPIRED BY LIFE

The Collection: A key player in growing the market for fine art photography, international art dealer Harry Lunn is celebrated as one of the early pioneers to discover the incredible potential of the medium.

The Inspiration: Captivated by Ansel Adams’s ‘Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico’ on a visit to Manhattan in 1970, Lunn added photographs to his repertoire of etchings, prints and lithographs, broadening and developing his business through to the 1990s.

The Work: Honing in on the gritty realism of the characters of everyday life, Eugène Atget depicts three prostitutes standing in the doorway to their place of business. This rare print is typical of the artist’s preference for documenting both the architecture and street-scenes of Paris. This selection of 24 photographs from Lunn’s personal collection includes stellar examples of work by Robert Frank, William Eggleston and Diane Arbus.

INTERNATIONAL ICONS

The Collection: Starting in 1973, Harvey Shipley Miller and Jon Randall Plummer were inspired to assemble a discerning, encyclopedic ensemble of seminal works that exemplify the history, evolution and practice of photography.

The Inspiration: Largely composed of 19th century material, they relied on books, exhibitions and conversations with dealers, artists and fellow enthusiasts to guide them. They procured photographs at auctions, flea markets, galleries and often from the artists themselves.

The Work: In exceptional condition, this rare daguerreotype of George Washington from the Miller-Plummer Collection is iconic yet strangely mysterious. Created from a painted portrait by Gilbert Stuart, this work is characteristic of the pivotal examples included in this collection which shaped the development of the medium. Works by Man Ray, Harold Edgerton and Marcus Aurelius Root also feature in this astounding offering.