LONDON – The latest Photo Opportunities auction at Bloomsbury Auctions on Thursday, June 4, coincides with the relaunch of Photo London and features big names of fashion photography including Irving Penn and Norman Parkinson.
Estimates range from £100, in the no reserve section, to £15,000 for Marilyn Minter’s Wet Kiss, 2014. Appealing to a wide range of photography lovers from veteran collectors to first time buyers looking for bold and beautiful works, the London sale pleases all tastes and pockets.
Elliott Erwitt (b. 1928), Wyoming, 1954 (est. £2,000-£3,000). Erwott wrote: “I was traveling across the country from New York to Los Angeles and taking a lot of pictures, while driving, out of the windshield … today it’s an image of a bygone era, but at the time seemed ordinary.”
Irving Penn (1917-2009), Woman in Balenciaga Coat (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn), Paris, 1950 (est. £10,000-15,000). American photographer Penn was most widely known for his fashion photography and portraits. This image is of his wife Lisa Fonssagrives, who is widely recognized as the first supermodel.
Norman Parkinson (1913-1990) Dog Friday, Praslin Island, Seychelles for British Vogue, 1971 (est. £1,500-£2,000). Grace Coddington, former model and the creative director of American Vogue magazine, wrote: “Parks taught me such a lot … he and I were on a shoot in the Seychelles in 1971 with the model Apollonia van Ravenstein, standing on miles and miles of virgin white sand. Suddenly a dog appeared out of nowhere. Apollonia stretched out her arms to call it, and at that moment, the picture sprang to life.”
Horst P. Horst (1906-1999), Round the Clock I, NY, 1987 (est. £5,000-£7,000). Dubbed the King of Fashion Photography, Horst was one of the leading fashion and portrait photographers of the 20th century. “Horst tamed the avant-garde to serve fashion” – The New York Times, April 19, 1996.