My Select Pics: Be-hold Auction is Today

(Above) Mike Disfarmer: Soldier’s Family, 4 3/8” x 3” gelatin silver print, vintage early 1940’s.

Description:
Complex portrait of the 3 figures, their relationship to the camera and to each other. The wife appears possibly pregnant. One of those photographs by Disfarmer that engages us in a mystery just below the surface.

Pre-Auction Estimate: $7,000 to $9,000
Minimum bid: $3,000

(Above) Mike Disfarmer: Ola Mae Morgan, 5 ½” x 3 ½” gelatin silver print, vintage early 1940’s, subject’s name written in pen on verso.

Description:
The boots reflected on the dimly-seen table make the child seem to be standing on white blocks. She is isolated within the frame, giving this a psychological dimension that is part of what makes Disfarmer’s photographs so fascinating.

Pre-Auction Estimate: $7,000 to $9,000
Minimum bid: $2,500


(Above) A. Aubrey Bodine: Five Fireman, 12 ¼” x 16 ¼” vintage chloride print, 1936, on original mat titled, signed and dated by Bodine in pencil on the mat recto, with 16 exhibition stamps on verso, with title and information in Bodine’s hand.

Description:
A masterful image and print, in a fine modern frame.

Pre-Auction Estimate: $5,000 to $7,000
Minimum bid: $4,000


(Above) Robert Doisneau: Cafe Noir Et Blanc, 7” x 9 ¼” gelatin silver print, 1948, printed later.

Description:
Has Doisneau’s “46 Place Jules Ferry” red stamp, Rapho agency stamp, other stamps and notations in pen pencil on verso. A fine print.

Pre-Auction Estimate: $3,000 to $4,000
Minimum bid: $2,000

(Above) Andrzej Jerzy Lech: Tamworth Ontario, 1995, 9” x 12” sepia gelatin print, printed in 2003 for an exhibition in Florence Italy.

Description:
Lech, born in Poland, now lives in Jersey City. The Journal of Contemporary Photography, wrote a beautiful long article on Lech’s photographs. It begins: “I do not think anyone could look at a photograph by... Lech and not immediately be struck by its ghostly beauty, its brilliant artistry and craftsmanship, and finally its genius.”

Pre-Auction Estimate: $1,000 to $1,500

(Above) Doris Ulmann: South Carolina, Two Women, 8” x 6” platinum print, vintage ca. 1920. Signed by Ulmann in pen on the mount beneath the image.

Description:
Label on the verso from the NYNEX collection.

Pre-Auction Estimate: $3,000 to $4,000
Minimum bid: $2,000

(Above) Ormsby: Beautiful Indian Portrait, 8 ½” x 6 ½” glossy brown toned gelatin silver print.

Description:
A great portrait with a strong character.
Pre-Auction Estimate: $600 to $1,000


(Above) Walker Evans: Residential Area, Morgantown, West Virginia, 8” x 10” gelatin silver print, 1939, printed ca. 1950. Walker Evans stamp and “111/ 3” in pencil within boxes on verso.

Description:
The print shows the full borders of the negative.
Provenance: Harry Lunn to present owner
Pre-Auction Estimate: $8,000 to $10,000
Minimum bid: $6,500

LARRY GOTTHEIM’S BE-HOLD AUCTION 53 will be held today, April 28 beginning at 4pm. It will held at the Radisson Martinique Hotel, 32nd Street at Broadway. The preview is on the Sunday and Monday before, from 10am to 9pm, and the day of the auction from 10am until the auction. Or, you can bid online for the item you want.

The eight images above are some images I think are highlights of the auction, but here are a lot of gems available for any taste. Register to bid at: Be-hold. Even if you are not a buyer, it is fun and educational to look at the variety of lots available on line.

Note: Today’s post has a few font issues that I have not been able to solve: I apologize for the inconsistencies.