• The National Geographic Collec auction at Christies

    Sale 2603

    The National Geographic Collection: The Art of Exploration

    New York

    |

    6 December 2012

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    • RANDY OLSON (B. 1957)
    Lot 45

    RANDY OLSON (B. 1957)

    Crowds at Churchgate Station, 2011

    Price realised

    USD 13,750

    Estimate

    USD 2,000 - USD 3,000

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    RANDY OLSON (B. 1957)
    Crowds at Churchgate Station, 2011
    unique digital inkjet print, printed 2012
    accompanied by certificate of authenticity, signed by the photographer and the National Geographic Society and numbered '1/1'
    image: 26 5/8 x 40in. (67.5 x 101.5cm.)
    sheet: 44 x 30½in. (112 x 77.5cm.)

    Provenance

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    Lot Essay

    "This used to be the easiest place to photograph because of a lunch counter with open windows right over the station where photographers and others could freely come and go. Unfortunately, Churchgate was the site of a terrorist bombing in 2006 and afterward, the lunch area was transformed into one of the most secure anti-terrorist offices in India. After many weeks of trying to get in because my editor said this was the scene they wanted for the lead for the 7 Billion Humans story in National Geographic magazine, the officials said if I was Indian they would let me in. I am not Indian, but my fixer is. After hiring someone else to go to government offices for a solid three weeks, we got permission and I sent my fixer up to the anti-terrorism offices with my camera and framing instructions, and I sat in a van we had hired that has the movie "GI Joe" blaring in Hindi from the van's onboard DVD player. The same runner who has been going to offices for three weeks shuttled cards back and forth from my fixer to me. I put the cards in another camera, look at the framing, exposure, lens use, and send back instructions. After about four hours we have this photograph, and a small victory over Indian bureaucracy. National Geographic magazine never used the photograph." Randy Olson

    Other information

    Saleroom Notice

    This lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the photographer and National Geographic Society guaranteeing the photograph is unique and numbered '1/1'.


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