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John Lennon portrait by Robert Whitaker. Photographer Robert Whitaker captured a pensive John Lennon at Weybridge in May 1965. The lightjet digital print was made in 2006 and is estimated at $915-$1,200. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.

The focus is on famous images in Bloomsbury’s Photographs sale

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
John Lennon portrait by Robert Whitaker. Photographer Robert Whitaker captured a pensive John Lennon at Weybridge in May 1965. The lightjet digital print was made in 2006 and is estimated at $915-$1,200. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
John Lennon portrait by Robert Whitaker. Photographer Robert Whitaker captured a pensive John Lennon at Weybridge in May 1965. The lightjet digital print was made in 2006 and is estimated at $915-$1,200. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.

LONDON – Famous and familiar faces will be in focus as Bloomsbury Auctions offers important photographs of the 19th and 20th centuries and contemporary works at an auction Thursday, May 21. Among the 269 lots is an impressive group of portraits. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Celebrity and fashion are celebrated in this sale with three impressive oversize prints by Terry O’Neill of Brigitte Bardot, Spain, 1971, Paul Newman and Lee Marvin in costume for Pocket Money, Denver, Colo., 1971 and Frank Sinatra, 1968 (estimates £3,000-£5,000, $4,600-$7,600).

No group of portrait photographs is complete without examples from British photographer David Bailey. Bloomsbury is offering six lots of his Live Aid Portraits, which were originally sold on behalf of the Band Aid Ethiopian Relief Fund in 1985. All the prints are framed with glass backs showing the signatures of both the photographer and the musicians, including Madonna, David Bowie and Paul and Linda McCartney. The prints are an edition of three, and estimates begin at £400-£600 ($610-$915).

Andrew Catlin’s portrait of Sinead O’Connor, 1988, is held in the collection of the National Gallery in London and a large variant shot will be offered, standing at over a meter tall, as edition 2/3. It is estimated at £2,500-£3,500 ($3,800-$5,340).

Hollywood icons such as Sid Avery’s James Dean on the set of Giant, Marfa, Texas, 1955 (est. £1,000-£2,000, $1,500-$3,000) will appeal to a large audience together with a large Cibachrome print of Marilyn Monroe, Mount Sinai, Long Island, N.Y., 1952, by Eve Arnold, printed on the occasion of the 1996 retrospective Eve Arnold, In Retrospect, Barbican, London. (est. £2,000-£3,000, $3,000-$4,600).

Nine lots feature photogravures from Camera Work with an attractive selection of photogravures by Alfred Stieglitz from the most desirable issue, no. 36, including The Steerage (1907), The Terminal (1892) and Spring Showers, New York (1900) (est. £5,000-£8,000, $7,600-$12,200).

Another highlight from the 20th Century items on offer, is Untitled (Nude) by Erwin Blumenfeld, a gelatin silver print, printed circa 1943 by the photographer, stamped on verso, 13 by 10inches.

Contemporary photographs are also in this auction and include Izima Kaorou’s Tsuruta Mayu wears Dries Van Noten, no.191, 1998 (est. £4,000-£6,000, $6,100-$9,100) and six lots of Andrew Moore’s gigantic cibachrome prints from his series of Montages, such as Towers of Light, 1991 (est. £4,000-£6,000, $6,100-$9,100).

Among the 19th-century photographs are four photographs by Paul Nadar from the interview between the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul and Nadar, taken on the occasion of Chevreul’s 100th birthday in 1886. The gelatin silver prints are considered to be the earliest “photo-interview.” The original negatives were made on Aug. 31, 1886. (est. £8,000-£12,000, $12,200-$18,300).

Previews are scheduled for Monday, May 18, and Tuesday, May 19, from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.; Wednesday, May 20, from 9.30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday, May 21, from 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The auction begins at 3 p.m.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

 

Click here to view Bloomsbury Auction’s complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Hans Bellmer gave a nod to Surrealism in this rare vintage gelatin silver print titled 'La Poupée'. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
Hans Bellmer gave a nod to Surrealism in this rare vintage gelatin silver print titled ‘La Poupée’. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
Erwin Blumenfeld created 'Untitled (Nude)', a gelatin silver print, circa 1943. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
Erwin Blumenfeld created ‘Untitled (Nude)’, a gelatin silver print, circa 1943. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
A fine example of Diane Arbus' work 'Elderly Couple on Park Bench, N.Y.C. 1969' has been in a private collection since 1979, and is estimated £5,000-£8,000 ($7,600-$12,200). Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
A fine example of Diane Arbus’ work ‘Elderly Couple on Park Bench, N.Y.C. 1969’ has been in a private collection since 1979, and is estimated £5,000-£8,000 ($7,600-$12,200). Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
Nine 1930s gelatin silver prints by Théo Blanc and Antoine Demilly are estimated at $9,100-$12,200.
Nine 1930s gelatin silver prints by Théo Blanc and Antoine Demilly are estimated at $9,100-$12,200.
Man Ray took this self-portrait in 1937 while on holiday in Antibes. The gelatin silver print, 3 by 5 inches, carries at $3,800-$5,340 estimate. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.
Man Ray took this self-portrait in 1937 while on holiday in Antibes. The gelatin silver print, 3 by 5 inches, carries at $3,800-$5,340 estimate. Image courtesy Bloomsbury.