Van Ham Celebrate their 10th Anniversary with Over 400 Works by Outstanding Photographers
COLOGNE.- Van Ham celebrate their 10th anniversary with over 400 works by outstanding photographers, among them regulars such as August Sander, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky or Irving Penn. Moreover, Van Ham dedicate a special catalogue to an American collection entitled Selection from an American Collection that comprises numerous works by international top photographers.
At this occasion Van Ham again calls top lots from the highly sought-after oeuvre by Cologne photographer August Sander to auction. Particularly remarkable is the 1926 portrait of Sander’s friend, the author and literary critic Dettmar Heinrich Sarnetzki, that the photographer included in his book “Antlitz der Zeit” in 1929 (lot 1123 | estimate: € 8,000 – € 10,000).
The 1928 icon “Konditor”, here a print from 1974 made by Gunther Sander, has been estimated at € 4,000 to € 5,000 (lot 1125). An impressive self-portrait from 1944 will be put up to auction for € 3,000 (lot 1129).
With very good works Albert Renger-Patzsch has also always been a regular at Van Ham’s. His extensive creativity is reflected in works from the 1930s to 1950s (lots 1105-1114 | estimates: € 1,200 – € 2,200).
The market for photo books has been increasing rapidly in recent years. International collectors might therefore be especially interested in the beautiful and well preserved first edition of the book “Die Welt ist schön”. This 1928 publication will be offered with a rare dust jacket and a banderol that is usually not present on the auction market and features a quotation by the author Romain Rolland (lot 1104 | estimate: € 9,000).
An icon of photography is the “Schwarz-weiße Akt” by Heinz Hajek-Halke taken between 1930 and 1936. The later and rare large-size print has been estimated between € 16,000 and € 18,000 (lot 1054).
A fantastic series of works by the American photographer Harold E. Edgerton will also be on offer. His motion studies enjoy an increasing demand among collectors (lots 1029-1037 | estimates: € 2,000 – € 7,500).
The oeuvre of Bernd and Hilla Becher is at the moment on display in several photographic exhibitions of the “quadriennale 2010” in Düsseldorf. With “Kalköfen” from 1968 Van Ham offers a rare original print of the photographers’ early creative period for € 8,000 (lot 1008).
A life-size, unique “Nudogramm” by Floris M. Neusüss, created in Munich in 1964, impressively visualises the medium of photography’s experimental potential (lot 1091 | estimate: € 6,000 – € 8,000).
With Irving Penn‘s (d. 2009, New York) portrait “Picasso” from 1957 Van Ham call one of the photographer’s classics and at the same time one of the most beautiful portraits of Pablo Picasso to auction for € 22,000 (lot 1098).
A highlight among the contemporaries is the photography “Fußballspieler” Andreas Gursky took in Liege in 1984. The work has meanwhile become a rare example of the internationally renowned photographer’s early oeuvre (lot 1047 | estimate: € 20,000 – € 25,000). The large-size C-print “Cairo” from 1992, estimated at € 35,000 up to € 45,000, was also created by Gursky (lot 1046 A).
Selection from an American Collection
A special catalogue has been dedicated to the Selection from an American Collection coming up with equally tempting offers. From the wide range of works by international top photographers an original nude photograph by Bill Brandt, taken in 1955 at the Eaton Place in London, has been included. It has been estimated at € 5,000 up to € 7,000 (lot 1294).
A classic of the genre is Brassaï’s “Le Fort des Halles” (lot 1296 | estimate: € 4,000 – € 5,000).
The charming view “Ile de la Cité” by Henri Cartier-Bresson is virtually a synonym of the old, 1930s Paris (lot 1301 | estimate: € 5,000 – € 6,000).
Italian photographer Mario Giacomelli’s work is represented with a beautiful series. His images, created in the 1950s to 1960s, have been estimated between € 2,500 and € 3,500 (lots 1342-1344).
The Swiss-American photographer Robert Frank counts among the internationally sought-after photographers. His societal study “Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Fox” was created in the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1954 (lot 1340 | Estimate: € 6,000 – € 8,000).
Two gelatine silver prints by John Heartfield from 1932 and 1934, both published in the Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung, will be offered for € 6,000 to € 8,000 resp. € 10,000 to € 12,000 (lots 1349-1350).
Veritable eye-catchers are the images by photographer Lisette Model. Especially sought-after is her work series “Coney Island Bather” from around 1940. A large-size later print has been estimated at € 5,000 to € 7,000 (lot 1383).
The vintages by Martin Munkacsi do only very rarely emerge on the auction market. His gelatine silver prints from 1929 and 1930 have been estimated between € 3,000 and € 5,000 (lot 1391-1392).
Real masterpieces are the early gelatine prints by Edward Steichen. The print “An Apple, a boulder, a mountain” has been estimated at € 30,000 to € 40,000 (lot 1415); “Wheelbarrow with flower pots” at € 15,000 to € 20,000 (lot 1414).
The beautiful desert view by Edward Weston from 1941 is a match for the former and completes the high-quality offers in this extraordinary collection (lot 1432 | estimate: € 20,000 – € 25,000).
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