Movie stars, noted photographers linked in Jasper52 sale April 17

Ed Feingersh, ‘Marilyn In New York Taxi Cab,’ silver gelatin, 1955, 12in. x 16in., from an edition of 300, 1950-59. Estimate: $700-$800. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK – Movie buffs can relive the behind-the-scenes glitz and glamour of the Golden Age of Hollywood with an art photography auction that will be conducted by Jasper52 on Wednesday, April 17. Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn are the stars of the auction, as are photographers Ed Feingersh and Bert Hardy. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

Feingersh (1925-1961) is best known for his pictures of Marilyn Monroe, but he was a prolific photojournalist throughout the 1950s. Two of his moody photographs of jazz performers were selected by Edward Steichen for MoMA’s world-touring “The Family of Man” exhibition in 1955. His talent for available light photography under difficult conditions was is evidenced by his image of Marilyn in a New York taxi cab (above). Feingersh photographed Monroe for Redbook magazine in March 1955 for a story that would follow Monroe through her daily routine, the photography to be candid and shot without flash in available light. Thirty-one images of Monroe taken by Feingersh are available in the auction.

Albert William Thomas “Bert” Hardy (1913-1995) was an English documentary and press photographer known for his work published in the Picture Post magazine between 1941 and 1957. The bulk of the images in the auction are by Hardy and demonstrate his obvious skills as a lifelong photojournalist. Three of Hardy’s photos were used in Edward Steichen’s “The Family of Man” exhibition and book. Several of the images in the Jasper52 auction are of Belgian-born American actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993). The image titled Hepburn at Paris (below) pictures the actress during the filming of Funny Face (1957).

Bert Hardy, ‘Hepburn at Paris,’ silver gelatin print, 1956, 30in. x 40in., edition of 300. Estimate: $2,000-$2,500. Jasper52 image

Another of Hardy’s images in the auction are of performers making finishing touches to one another’s costumes before the night’s performance with one of France’s most famous revue dance teams, the Ballet Avila, in a show at Alexandra Palace in London.

Bert Hardy, ‘Feather Headdress,’ silver gelatin print, 1948, 16in. x 20in., edition of 300. Estimate: $700-$800. Jasper52 image

Hardy’s beautiful image titled Off Duty Usherette silhouettes a young couple outside a theater at night. The silver gelatin enlargement measures 30 by 30 inches.

Bert Hardy, ‘Off Duty Usherette,’ silver gelatin print, 1954, 30in. x 30in., edition of 300, 1950-59. Estimate: $1,100-$1,500. Jasper52 image

Several of the Hardy photographs have automotive and racing themes. His Oxted Showroom pictures the detail of the headlight on a Triumph TR4A at a car showroom in Surrey, England, in 1965. The silver gelatin print is huge: 40 by 40 inches.

Bert Hardy, ‘Oxted Showroom,’ silver gelatin print, 1965, 40in. x 40in., edition of 300, 1960-69. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000. Jasper52 image

Hardy captured the excitement of a different type of race in Liquid Refreshment, which pictures Ken Joy receiving a drink during his successful bid to break the London to Brighton cycling speed record in 1949.