
Deborah Turbeville (1932-2013) Asser Levy Bathhouse, New York (for 'Vogue'), 1975 Gelatin silver print, printed 1990; the artist's estate stamp on the reverse; accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, signed in ink by the printer. 13 x 19 1/8 in. (33 x 48.6 cm.) sheet 16 x 19 7/8 in. (40.6 x 50.5 cm.) Footnotes: Provenance Gift of the photographer to the present owner, her former printer Literature Nathalie Herschdorfer, Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage (London, 2023), p. 32 Deborah Turbeville: Past Imperfect (Göttingen, 2009), pp. 108-109 Deborah Turbeville, Deborah Turbeville: The Fashion Pictures (New York, 2011), pp. 54-55 Note In 1975, Deborah Turbeville photographed a group of models at the Asser Levy Bathhouse in New York for Vogue magazine, which resulted in the present image. Decades later, she vividly recalled the odd working environment while on this assignment: 'Something in the atmosphere began to dictate the pictures. As the sitting progressed they became increasingly surreal, bizarre, Marquis-de-Sade in feeling, particularly the black-and-white images. Each photograph took almost a full day to work out. Maybe it was the domed skylights with their heavy panes, or the eerie daylight that sifted through them, or the extreme stark white makeup (girls in bathing suits normally look a little more healthy). It all seemed a little sinister, like the women were somehow trapped, isolated. Why were they there? What were they doing? Staring straight ahead, lost in their own world - why did no one smile? Nothing I've ever done (and I've done some controversial stories) produced such a reaction. Were they drug addicts? Were they in a concentration camp? An asylum? Many magazine and newspaper articles later, still no one knew. For me it was just a problem of fitting five girls across a double-page spread.' (Deborah Turbeville: The Fashion Pictures, p. 57) For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing





























