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An Eye Towards the Real: Photographs from the Collection of Ambassador Trevor Traina
An Eye Towards the Real: Photographs from the Collection of Ambassador Trevor Traina

Sale Overview

Christie’s is pleased to announce the live auction of An Eye Towards the Real: Photographs from the Collection of Ambassador Trevor Traina, to be offered this autumn as part of the Contemporary New York sale series. Ambassador Traina was guided in his acquisitions by a fascination with the medium of photography and how photography in the art market has evolved from the post-war era into the contemporary, 21st century.

This collection presents a rich journey through stories, emotions, places and personalities, with a mix of works from photography’s documentary tradition, post-modern foundations, and more contemporary practices. Anchoring the post-war period are works by Robert Frank whose seminal photobook, The Americans, has influenced subsequent generations of photographers. The collection also features several key works by Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand and Lee Friedlander — the trio of photographers included in John Szarkowski’s landmark exhibition New Documents held at the Museum of Modern Art in 1967.

Two intertwined themes that are woven throughout the collection are the rise to prominence of women photographers, and the birth and acceptance of colour photography within the art market. Works by Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Louise Lawler, and Tina Barney, sit alongside pieces by Nan Goldin, Alex Prager and Jackie Nickerson. Likewise, the powerful colour images of William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Mitch Epstein and Larry Sultan are complemented by Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky, Martin Parr and Paul Graham. Learn more about the auction highlights in the collection's editorial feature.

As part of an exciting and innovative partnership, all lots from this auction will be presented on the blockchain and offered with an associated digital certificate of ownership exclusively included with a Kresus wallet.

Homepage image © Eggleston Artistic Trust

Auction times
03 Oct 01:00 PM (EDT) Lots 1-132

Our specialist’s selection

Brought to you by

Rebecca Jones

Rebecca Jones

Associate Vice President, Specialist, Head of Department | Photographs

Rebecca Jones is an Associate Vice President, Specialist and the Head of Department in the Photographs department in New York. In her current role, Rebecca helps source and appraise photographs for all upcoming international Photographs auctions. She oversees the research and cataloguing for all photographs confirmed for auction and private sales in New York. Before joining Christie’s Photographs department in 2015, she served as the Archive Manager of the Peter Hujar Archive in New York. She also previously held a position as the Registrar for a prestigious private collection of Contemporary, Post-War and Modern art located across several residences throughout the world. Rebecca holds a BFA degree from The Corcoran College of Art and Design and an MA degree in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Darius Himes

Darius Himes

International Head of Department | Photographs

Darius Himes is Deputy Chairman, International Head of Photographs, based in New York City, where he oversees a global team holding auctions in Paris, London, and NYC. He is focused on private sales and business development, with a keen emphasis on bringing singular collections and individual masterpieces to market in innovative ways. In recent years, his strategic approach has yielded outstanding auction records for Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and William Eggleston among others. In 2022 alone, the department achieved three of the four top prices for any photograph sold at auction.

Since joining the company in 2014, Himes has had the privilege of speaking with Sir Paul McCartney, Richard Gere, and Sir Elton John about their love of photography and has interviewed on stage numerous artists including Hiroshi Sugimoto, Mona Kuhn, Todd Hido, and Bruce Davidson about their work. He was instrumental in bringing the personal collection of DJ Kool Herc, the founding father of Hip-Hop, to Christie’s for a landmark sale in the summer of 2022.

Prior to joining Christie’s, Himes was director of Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco from 2011–2014. In 2007 he co-founded Radius Books, a non-profit publisher of books on photography and the visual arts. A lecturer and writer, his 3rd edition of Publish Your Photography Book, co-authored with Mary Virginia Swanson, was released in the spring of 2023.

Himes completed his Master of Arts in Liberal Arts at St. John's College in 2000 and received a BFA in Photography from Arizona State University, having studied under William Jenkins and Bill Jay. His love of the full breadth of the medium is evident in his work both within and outside the auction world.

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