This November 24, at the historic Hotel Bristol in Vienna, Leitz Photographica Auction will stage “Shaping Visions,” a sweeping auction of contemporary photographs. An exhibition of the works included is currently on view in an exhibition held at Leica Gallery Vienna, offering visitors an up-close opportunity to experience the work of seminal 20th-century photographers—from classic masters of the medium like Walker Evans, Horst P. Horst, and Bernice Abbott, to contemporary practitioners such as Henry Wessel, Luigi Ghirri, and Sally Mann.
Below are some of the not-to-be-missed lots from “Shaping Visions.”
Roe Ethridge, from “Floral Arrangements” (1997)
Roe Ethridge, from “Floral Arrangments” (1997). Courtesy of Leitz Auction. Est. €16,000–€20,000.
An homage to the art of color photography, the collection of seven chromogenic prints come from the series “Floral Arrangements,” a series undertaken between 1995 and 1997 by American photographer Roe Ethridge (b. 1969). Known for her postmodernist commercial and fine art images, Ethridge created this series early in her career just after finishing college. Using a 4 x 5 camera without a lens, for which she fashioned a pinhole lens, Ethridge was inspired by Becher school typography as well as the color palette of Matisse.
Nan Goldin, Joey at the Love Ball, NYC (1991)
Nan Goldin, Joey at the Love Ball, NYC (1991). Courtesy of Leitz Photographica Auction. Est. €7,000–€9,000.
American photographer and activist Nan Goldin (b. 1953) is most well-known for her exploration of intimacy, subculture, and issues surrounding the AIDS and opioid crises. While her work The Ballad of sexual Dependency (1985), comprised of images Goldin took between 1979 and 1986, her project The Other Side features images begun even earlier, and includes Joey at the Love Ball, NYC (1991). Both the series and this Cibachrome work speak to Goldin’s preoccupation with friendship—Goldin referred to Joey as her “favorite beauty”—and ability to capture the essence of her friends through her lens. This work comes from the estate of publisher Walter Keller, whom Goldin maintained a longstanding working relationship with.
Richard Misrach, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco (1999)
Richard Misrach, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco (1999). Courtesy of Leitz Photographica Auction. Est. €14,000–€18,000.
Best known for his images of the American West, American photographer Richard Misrach (b. 1949) is credited with helping promote the reevaluation and popularity of color photography in the 1970s. Applying the same compositional and aesthetic aims across myriad subjects—from cityscapes to suburban sprawl to natural landscapes—Misrach pioneered a new way of approaching documentary photography. His work and its unique tonal quality act as record rather than reportage, and offer new insight into the way viewers see the world.
Otto Steinert, Maske einer Tänzerin (1952)
Otto Steinert, Maske einer Tänzerin (1952), from “A Collection of 22 Photographs, 1949–1954.” Courtesy of Leitz Photographica Auction. Est. €200,000–€300,000.
Marking his achievement in black-and-white photography, a collection of 22 of German photographer Otto Steinert’s (1915–1978) most famous photographs will presented in convolute. Coming directly from the stock of Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante (FCCB) in São Paulo, the works were featured in the exhibition “Otto Steinert and his students” of 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo, presented in partnership with FCCB. Across the body of work, Seinert’s innovation and experimentation with the medium are evident, and reflect his lifelong commitment to expanding the genre.
Otto Steinert, Rhythmus und Struktur, Blick vom Arc de Triomphe (1951), from “A Collection of 22 Photographs, 1949–1954.” Courtesy of Leitz Photographica Auction. Est. €200,000–€300,000.
Dayanita Singh, from “The Third Sex” (1989–1999)
Dayanita Singh, from “The Third Sex” (1989–1999). Courtesy of Leitz Photographica Auction. €12,000–€16,000.
Indian photographer Dayanita Singh (b. 1961) is widely recognized for her photo essays and photo collection books. Working in within the context of visual narrative and ongoing series, Singh is able to comprehensively explore her subjects. Featured as a collection of eight gelatin silver prints, printed in the 1990s, “The Third Sex” sees Singh follow the life of transgender person Mona Ahmed over the course of a decade, documenting a wide range of their life events and experiences. Photographer and subject were close friends until Mona’s death in 2017, and the nuance and tenderness in the black-and-white images reflect the deep relationship.
Dayanita Singh, from “The Third Sex” (1989–1999). Courtesy of Leitz Photographica Auction. €12,000–€16,000.
Leitz Photographica Auction “Shaping Visions” sale will take place November 24, 2023, in Vienna.