Sotheby's is Auctioning Off Some of Fashion's Most Iconic Photographs
Leland Hirsch's works are being highlighted with a new exhibit and auction.
By Jennifer Algoo and Megan Decker
Probably most well-known for the development of Artec hair color products (acquired by L'Oréal Paris in 2002), Leland Hirsch has always harnessed a creative spirit in his career. More than just the 'Godfather of hair color,' Hirsch expanded his own definition of beauty through his collection of high-fashion editorial photographs, defining his work as the search for "what should be that is not."
Today, Hirsch's diverse collection of photographs, titled: A Beautiful Life: Photographs from the Collection of Leland Hirsch, features more than fifty works of iconic fashion photography from the 20th and 21st centuries. And on April 10th, New York City's Sotheby's will celebrate the photographs through a gallery exhibition and auction.
From masterpieces such as Herb Ritts' iconic 'Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood' (estimate $50/70,000) to Steven Meisel's 'Madonna Hitching' (estimate $5/7,000)—the entire Hirsch collection will be on public view in Sotheby's York Avenue galleries beginning on April 4th, alongside the seasonal pre-sale exhibition of photographs. Then the series will hit auction at 10am on April 10th—for more information, visit Sotheby's.
Click through for a first look at A Beautiful Life: Photographs from the Collection of Leland Hirsch.
Lot 1, Herb Ritts
Stephanie Seymour, Cindy Crawford, Christur Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Naomi Campbell
Mounted, signed, titled, dated, and editioned '11/25' in pencil and stamped on the reverse, overmatted, framed, 1989
18 1/2 by 20 in. (47 by 50.8 cm.)
Estimate: $50/70,000
Grillo Demo
Lot 4, Grillo Demo
Elle with Falling Jasmine
A unique object, inkjet print on canvas, illustrated with gesso, signed, titled, and dated in ink on the reverse, framed, 2007
40 by 28 in. (101.6 by 71.1 cm.)
Estimate: $4/6,000
Irving Penn
Lot 9, Irving Penn
Man Lighting Girl's Cigarette (New York)
Selenium-toned, signed, initialed, titled, dated, and annotated in pencil and stamped on the reverse, framed, a Norton Museum of Art exhibition label on the reverse, 1949, printed in 1983, one from an edition of no more than 8 gelatin silver prints
19 1/8 by 20 1/4 in. (48.6 by 51.4 cm.)
Estimate: $70/100,000
Lot 22, Herb Ritts
Female Torso with Veil, Paradise Cove
Blindstamped in the margin, signed, titled, dated, and editioned 'AP 1/3' in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1984
17 1/2 by 15 in. (44.4 by 38.1 cm.)
Peter Beard
Lot 36, Peter Beard
Photo Lesson On The S. S. Caroline, Skorpios, Greece, July 1972 (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis)
A unique object, signed, titled, dated, and annotated in red and black inks, partial handprint and drawing in blood and inks in the image, and with collage elements, framed, a Fahey/Klein Gallery label and facsimile of the Peter Beard studio stamp on the reverse, 1972, printed in 2004
Michael Halsband
Lot 40, Michael Halsband
Jean-Michel Basquiat + Andy Warhol, N. Y. C.
Oversized, signed, titled, and dated in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1985, printed later
Hog Ranch Front Lawn, Night Feeder (2:00 am) With Maureen Gallagher & Mbuno, Feb. 1987
A unique object, mural-sized, signed, titled, dated, annotated 'Peter Beard, Hog Ranch, Box 47616, Nairobi, Kenya,' and inscribed with a passage from Joseph Conrad by the photographer in black, white, and red inks on the image, and with drawings of insects and animals, blood, and collage elements: a box of matches; a leaf; a photo strip of 3 images of a baby mountain gorilla; half-tone reproductions of a red sweater, Peter Beard photographs of animals, and a self-portrait with a crocodile annotated 'I'll write whenever I can' by the photographer in ink, framed, 1987, printed and assembled in the 1990s
50 3/8 by 71 3/8 in. (128 by 181.3 cm.)
Estimate: $200/300,000
Lot 47, Helmut Newton
Nude In Seaweed, Saint Tropez
Large-format, signed, titled, and dated in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1981, no. one in an edition of 10
Lot 50, Steven Meisel
Madonna Hitching (From Sex)
Signed and dated '93' in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1992
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