Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — October 31, 2024

At Auction Thursday, October 31 at 10:30 AM ET

The October Fine Photographs auction opens with a selection of 45 lots from a California Collection. Examining photography as an element of the story of the American West as well as the use of photography in exploration and documentation, these works include both iconic scenes and photographers as well as a premier selection of rare work. The collection features early work such as Carleton Watkins’ signed mammoth albumen print Section of the Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite (1861)and a rare oval example of Agassiz Column from Union Point, Yosemite (1878-81). Nineteenth-century American photography is also represented by Charles Weed’s Yosemite Valley fromMariposa Trail (1864; printed no later than 1867), and work by George Fiske and Charles Bierstadt. Examination of the Western landscape continues with work by Ansel Adams, including his Half Dome, Merced River, Winter (1938; printed 1962-63)and Edward Weston, featuring a vintage example of Church Door, Hornitos (1940) as well as Cypress, Rock, Stone Crop (1930), and more. American work also includes Anne Brigman, Imogen Cunningham, Brett Weston, and many others. The collection also features rare European material, highlighted by Félix Teynard’s Colossal Statues Seen from Three-Quarters View, the Temple of Ramese at Abu Simbel (1851-52).

The auction includes other rare and important material. We are pleased to feature Lewis Baltz’s portfolio titled Park City (with 101 of the 102 prints), 1978-79, previously unseen on the market, and an exceptional platinum example of Alfred Stieglitz’s Spring Showers – The Street-Cleaner (1900-01).