CLINTONDALE, N.Y. – Kensington Estate Auction’s Monday, July 17 Estate, Fine Art & Antique On-Line Auction will exhibit some of America’s great photographers. Represented by signed images, books and personal letters, the photographers whose works appear in this auction span decades. The sale will also include fine art and urban art; Eskimo and Pacific Northwest ethnography; hand-colored pochoirs; sculptures; Persian rugs; French Art Deco posters; stamp collections and botanical illustrations. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Historic images of Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence from the Vandam Studio, a relaxing image of the director Josef von Sternberg with Marlene Dietrich on a film set and glass slides of Gypsy Rose reflects Hollywood’s golden era. William Gottlieb’s images of Ella Fitzgerald, estimated at $1,000-$2,000, and Dizzy Gillespie, estimated at $600-$1,200, capture the Jazz Age.
Rounding out this section are signed images, books, personal letters and posters from Richard Avedon; a standout is lot 8, an enlarged photographic image on a contact sheet, with a phrase inscribed in silver marker: MAGGIE BECOMES A LEGEND, LOVE AVEDON. Maggie Geiger was Avedon’s personal assistant, and the piece comes from her personal collection. It is estimated at $500-$1,000.
Richard Avedon-signed enlarged photographic image on a contact sheet, depicting his personal assistant, Maggie Geiger, estimated at $500-$1,000. Image courtesy of Kensington Estate Auction
The interest in this category extends to a candid photo of Andy Warhol with a host of friends, as well as depictions by and of Stephen Sondheim, George Hoyningen-Huene and Frank Yamrus. Not to be overlooked is a lot featuring photo negatives of Tzar Nicholas of Russia, Howard Carter dining in Tutankhamun’s Tomb, and a Man Ray photographic negative of Kiki de Montparnasse’s head next to an African ceremonial mask. Of particular interest is a collection of 1925 glass slides of Paris; Henri Cartier-Bresson’s 1952 book The Decisive Moment; and a photo album of the 1966 book Boyhood Photos, signed by its photographer-author Jacques-Henri Lartigue, estimated at $400-$800.
An 18th-century hand-colored botanical engraving by Dr. Robert Thornton exhibits vivid coloring and extraordinary detail, while a vast array of Leon Bakst pochoir costume designs; a lot of Diaghilev Ballets Russes original souvenir programs; line-cut plates of Jean Cocteau; and Art Deco works by Paul Colin will be in high demand.
The ethnographic category boasts Pacific Northwest Coast lithographs; totem and Inuit soapstone sculpture; and a signed Pacific Northwest Coast hand-carved Bumblebee mask estimated at $400-$600 and made by Dawson, a master carver from the Kwakiutl Nation. Also on offer is a signed Alebrije wood carving by Jacobo and Maria Angeles, while Bali is represented by a mythical Barong Ket carved sculpture and a Kamasan Palintangan astrological calendar.
Circa-1930s French Art Deco stone lithograph poster by Jean Carlu, estimated at $300-$500. Image courtesy of Kensington Estate Auction and LiveAuctioneers
Inspiring the imagination is the selection of illustration art on offer, led by original 1952 Readers Digest cover art by sporting and wildlife artist Roy Mason and National Geographic published illustrations from the scientific and sci-fi book illustrator Davis Meltzer. Several significant posters will be offered as well, among them a work credited to the famous graphic designer Jean Carlu, a circa-1930s Emprunt National poster touting government bonds, estimated at $300-$500. Completing the highlights is a lot of memorabilia relating to the play Sweet Charity, signed by its star, Gwen Verdon.
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