If you are new to photography, deciding what to purchase can be intimidating. Similar to acquiring artwork, a photographer’s reputation and the image’s edition size and provenance are key. You should also keep in mind the period in which it came from, how it relates to the photographer’s career, and if it tells a powerful story.
Here are our favorite works from our July 19 Online Photographs Sale.
Elliott Erwitt is best known for his candid, black and white photographs that embody his warmth and dry humor. In 1953, he was invited to join Magnum by founder Robert Capa, and since then has shot some of the most famous images of John F Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Fidel Castro.
In 1960, Ormond Gigli envisioned Girls in the Windows and brought the image to life with 43 women dressed in bright colored dresses. The building, set to be demolished, was opposite Gigli’s brownstone studio. When the workers had their lunch, the women stood in the windows while Gigli shot with a 4×5 Speed Graphic (which he rarely used). Fun fact: Gigli’s wife is in a pink outfit in the second row, two from the right.
Ormond Gigli | Girls in the Windows, New York City , 1960
Estimate: $35,000 – $45,000
Oversized dye coupler, printed later
46 x 46 inches (116.8 x 116.8 cm)
Signed, titled, dated and editioned 1/12 in ink on margin recto. One of an edition of 12 + 3 AP
Slim Aarons worked primarily for publications such as Town & Country and LIFE, taking photographs of the rich and famous and perfectly capturing the glamour of midcentury America. He often said he photographed “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.” Poolside Gossip is the perfect piece to add to your collection this summer.
Slim Aarons | Poolside Gossip, 1970
Estimate: $1,500 – $2,500
Lambda dye coupler, printed later
15-1/4 x 23 inches (38.7 x 58.4 cm)
With the artist’s blindstamp and editioned in pen ’40/150′ in the lower margin on recto
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