This Spring's New York photography auctions were the most boring and deadly affairs that I have ever attended. The various auctioneers and houses seemed to be trying the same combination that gravely slowed down the pace of these auctions. Starting out with too low a beginning estimate (used to entice, not help bidders), dragging out bidding to coax every bidder to make a move on every lot, even for ones for a few hundred dollars (I wanted to go up and throttle the auctioneers who would often wait literally minutes while phone and internet bidders would make up their minds), these auctions averaged about 40 lots per hour--less than half the pace of a normal auction. And, it wasn't just Sotheby's which was the offender this time. All three houses crept along, often right through the lunch hour, as many dealers and bidders left the auction rooms early in disgust. As San Francisco dealer Michael Shapiro remarked to me as he left Christie's, "It's worse than watching paint dry." Indeed, especially since most of the activity came from commission bids (bid up like someone was actually there bidding, I guess for the phones' benefit) and phones. And this auction approach seemed more aimed at phone bidders who would only be on for a few lots and would not tire like those of us in the room.

But if you were the auction house or a seller, the strategy apparently worked--at least in the short term. All three houses did very well with what looked like a lot of "cats and dogs"--material that largely did not get one excited. Of course, when there was a good auction lot, the sparks and the bidding flew.

At Sotheby's, which had some of the only 19th-century photographs of this spring's auction season, 7-Eleven's corporate collection again helped boost the quality and totals. That consignor alone resulted in over $1.9 million worth of the $6,297,500 sold at this auction. Sotheby's had a sold percentage of just under 90%. The auction also served to show that when quality 19th-century material is available, it will sell well.

As these auctions focus more and more on the upper level, I need to cut off most of the action at $35,000 (including the buyer's premium) in order not to make these auction reports longer than "War and Peace". My apologies about this. I know that most of my readers are more interested in other parts of the photo market, and I promise to try to cover other items of interest. Consider that the auction reports merely indicate the strength or weakness of the major photography auctions (not the overall marketplace).

Sotheby's likes to kick off its auctions with Ansel Adams, and he did not fail them here. In fact, lot 5, a mural-sized print of Adams' "The Grand Tetons and Snake River, Grand Tetons National Park, WY" generated intense competition. Estimated at only $70,000-100,000, the lot soared to $251,200, which briefly set a new record for the artist, which was later eclipsed in this auction. The print sold to an American collector in the room, who promptly left after his successful bid, which took the number two spot in this auction's Top Ten list. Actually, in my opinion, it should still hold the record, because the other lot is a sequence of five photographs, not one.

Ansel Adams also did well for Sotheby's on lot 9, another mural-sized print of the "Aspens, Northern New Mexico". The lot sold to a phone bidder for $90,000, just above the low estimate (including premium).

But it was lot 10, Adams' five-photograph "Surf Sequence, San Mateo County Coast, CA" that really churned up the water. Estimated at a not-inconsequential $150,000-250,000, the lot drove phone bidders, who acted more like a crazed piranha school after a rib roast than sophisticated collectors and dealers, to bid up the lot to a whopping $352,000 with premium. The winner on the phone was Carmel, CA dealer Maggie Weston, who had originally sold the print to the 7-Eleven collection in 1984. I wonder if she wished now that she had merely kept it. It was the top selling lot of the Sotheby's auction and set a new world auction record for the artist. While more than respectable, the amount was a far cry from many of the prices in February's Met/Gilman sale here.

A print of Edward Weston's iconic "Pepper #30" (lot 14), also from the 7-Eleven collection and the Weston Gallery, was estimated at $50,000-80,000 without premium. It sold to a collector on the phone for $144,000 over the underbid of German dealer Ute Hartjen of Camera Works. That amount put the lot into fifth place in the auction's Top Ten.

Another 7-Eleven piece, Alfred Stieglitz's "The Steerage" photogravure, signed, titled, dated and inscribed and in an original white metal An American Place frame (lot 23), did very well. Estimated at $30,000-50,000, it garnered a winning bid of $84,000 from New York photography dealer Robert Mann.

I am sorry that I didn't bid on lot 24, a Paul Strand of French grapes, for my own collection of images relating to wine. It was quite beautiful and the price, which matched the high estimate, was only $60,000, which may sound like a lot but isn't these days for such a quality Strand. It went to a phone bidder. It too came from the 7-Eleven collection and the Weston Gallery.

Another 7-eleven lot (31), Irving Penn's "Hell's Angel, Doug" went to a phone bidder for four times low estimate at $38,400. Penn continues to be hot in all the auctions.

A fine daguerreotype (one where you can actually see the image clearly) by Andre-Victor-Alcide-Jules Itier of "Petit Temple de Ile de Philae" (lot 49) was picked up by Carol Ehlers of the LaSalle Bank collection for $31,200, just above mid-estimate. The phones underbid her. The price was a good buy for such a strong image. Many of Itier's plates just aren't very good and still sell for high prices because they are so early and rare. Again, another image from 7-Eleven and Maggie Weston.

A mixed (from a condition and tonality standpoint) group of Linnaeus Tripe images of Burma (lot 55), again from 7-Eleven and Weston, seemed to me to be a good dealer group, so I bid them up. Unfortunately so did the phone. It sold to that phone bidder for $96,000 over my underbid.

I thought I might have an opportunity on lot 58, the wonderful set of John Thompson carbon prints of "Foochow and the River Min", which originally came from L.A. dealer Stephen White through to Maggie Weston and then finally on to the 7-Eleven collection. After all, I had a six-figure bid in my pocket for a client. Estimated at a very low $50,000-70,000, the group soared quickly--so quickly that I never had the chance to bid. The phone took the group for $180,000 over the underbid by San Francisco photo dealer Robert Koch. That price put the lot into third place at the auction.

Lot 62 was a quirky group of 18 tintypes of a pantomime in a variety of costumes, including women's clothing, and characters. It was estimated at $5,000-7,000. New York dealer Timothy Baum quipped, "Who says Mapplethorpe was an original?" Two photo dealers and a bank of phone bidders went after the lot. First, it was Connecticut dealer William Schaeffer that took the bidding lead. But in the end it was New York dealer Hans Kraus, Jr. who took the lot at a numbing $19,200, probably for his collection of tintypes (seriously).

The panorama of San Francisco by Eadweard Muybridge (lot 65) sold to San Francisco dealer Jeffrey Fraenkel, who had to first fend off collector Michael Mattis and then dealer Robert Koch for this object. At $45,600 he had to pay well over the teasing estimate of only $15,000-25,000, although the price was still a bargain.

A group of three important photographs of Brancusi and his work by Edward Steichen and by the artist himself (lot 72) got above the midrange of the estimates when San Francisco dealer Michael Shapiro, bidding for a client on the phone, battled New York dealer Timothy Baum. In the end, Baum got the lot for just over $50,000, which seems to be a very fine bargain when such quality Brancusi-related images might normally sell at auction for about $20,000-30,000 each when sold separately.

Seattle Curtis dealer Lois Flury, who bid on the phone, went on a tear through the Edward Curtis material here. First she took lot 79, a partial Portfolio 1, for $114,000 over a paltry estimate of $15,000-25,000, which was good enough for a piece of tenth place at this sale. Then she took lot 81, a partial Portfolio 3, for $132,000 over the same $15,000-25,000 estimate, which placed the lot into sixth place. On lot 82, a partial Portfolio 4, she bid $120,000 over the same silly estimate of $15,000-25,000, which was good enough for a tie for seventh place in the auction's Top Ten lots. Flury also took the following Curtis lots: 85 for $52,800 (est. $8,000-12,000); 86 for $21,600 (est. $6,000-9,000); 90 for $16,800 (est. $10,000-15,000); 91 for $13,200 (est. $8,000-12,000); 92 for $16,800 (est. $6,000-9,000); 93 for $9,600 (est. $6,000-9,000); and 94 for $19,200 (est. $8,000-12,000). Flury's cumulative damage here was over a half million dollars, or 8.2% of Sotheby's total take for the day.

Another phone (L0020) broke Flury's stride a few times, notably on lots 80 (est. $10,000-15,000), which sold for $43,200, 84 (est. $10,000-15,000), which sold for $90,000, and 87 (est. $10,000-15,000), which sold for $26,400.

A third phone managed to elbow out the other two Curtis phones on lot 83, Curtis Portfolio 5, for $40,800. But it was clearly Flury's day, but what happened to accurate estimating? Most of the Curtis dealers that I talked to were surprised by the low estimates, but it did sucker them in once more. Even the most sophisticated sometimes buy into the market hype.

After the lunch break, we returned again to dependable Ansel Adams. Lot 102, Adams' Portfolio One (estimated at $40,000-60,000), saw dealer Michael Shapiro, on the phone with a client, ironically challenge another phone bidder, who took away the prize. The final price topped the high estimate at $84,000.

The next lot, Adams' Sierra Club Outing portfolio of 23 prints, was estimated at $40,000-60,000, but it sold to another phone bidder for $102,000. Then lot 104, perhaps one of the earliest printings of Adams' "Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley", climbed well over its high estimate ($30,000-50,000) at $84,000. A different phone bidder got this one.

The phone that got the earlier lot of the Sierra Club Outing portfolio (and lot 100) also won Adams' Portfolio 3 over the underbid in the room by dealer Michael Shapiro. The total of $102,000 again easily eclipsed the estimate range of $50,000-70,000.

Adams' "Moon and Half Dome" (lot 108) sold to a man at the back of the room for about the high estimate at $40,800. Another circa 1960s print of Adams' "Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley" (lot 109) sold to a collector sitting next to New York dealer Tom Gitterman for midrange at $40,800. Then Austin, TX dealer Glen Oswald picked up the next Adams' lot "Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, CA" for midrange at $38,400. A phone bidder picked up a small "Grand Teton Range and the Snake River, Thunderstorm, WY" (lot 111) also for $38,400. Another phone bidder L0070 bought their second "Moonrise, Hernandez" of the day on lot 113 (the earlier one was a 1960s print, lot 4, for $26,400), but they paid $38,400 on this one. They had also picked up five other Adams' prints during the auction.

Lot 123 the late-printed (by Manuel Bravo) Tina Modotti "Roses" sold to a man in the back of the room who looked like an art consultant for four times the low estimate at $38,400. Since he had bought the totally different "Moon and Half Dome (lot 108) earlier, he appeared to be buying for clients.

Lee Marks paid a record price for Paul Strand's "Photographs of Mexico" 1940 Portfolio of nearly four times the low estimate at $45,600. It was reportedly a fine copy, but the price certainly was steep.

A very fine and large print of Lewis Hines' "Spinner" (lot 127), which was probably printed later in the 1940s by one of Hines' associates in the Photo League, sold to dealer Richard Moorehouse on the phone for above the high estimate at $45,600.

Late-printed Walker Evans' prints, at least of "Tenant Farmer Wife" (Allie Mae Burroughs), have made a big move. One printed by Jim Dow in 1971 and signed by Evans sold to German dealer Ute Hartjen of Camera Works. New York dealer Edwynn Houk underbid. The estimate was $5,000-8,000, but it sold for $45,600! Of course a slightly earlier one (probably 1950-60s) just sold during the Met/Gilman auction for $132,000. Dealer Joe Bellows, who sat behind me, was berating himself for having sold a portfolio print of the image to another dealer for a song just a few months before.

Another Walker Evans' image (lot 133, "Posed Portraits, NY")--this time in a vintage print--sold to a phone bidder for nearly double the low estimate at $55,200.

Lot 146, Andre Kertesz's "Self-Portrait, Paris", sold to a phone bidder for about double the midrange estimate at $57,600.

Man Ray's early "Portrait of Lily Butler" (lot 156), a very small, rather straight-forward portrait with a grid pattern, sold to a bidder in the room for well over the high estimate at $45,600.

In yet another absurdity of the market, Alfred Eisenstaedt's late-printed "Children at Puppet Theater" (lot 159) sold to a man on the aisle for a whopping $55,200 (estimate $25,000-35,000). Neither rare, nor printed by Eisenstaedt, nor even valued originally when Eisenstaedt first took the image, the market none-the-less has made this picture many times more valuable than many truly important historical landmark images. It's a cute image, but come on: $55,200?

W. Eugene Smith's printed-later "Walk to Paradise Garden" (lot 164) sold in the room for double the midrange of the estimate at $48,000.

Paul Strand's "Mr. Bennett, VT" (lot 166), a small, but very nice print, sold to Jeffrey Fraenkel for $48,000 over Boston dealer Robert Klein's underbid.

A woman in the room bid up the Frederick Sommer print of Max Ernst (lot 167) to nearly the high estimate at $57,600. Fraenkel then took the Sommer's image of "Livia" (lot 168) for $48,000.

La Jolla, CA dealer Joseph Bellows scooped up Emmet Gowin's portfolio of 11 images (lot 173) for over six times the low estimate at $52,800, but the unique group of vintage prints from the mid-1960s was still a "buy".

In case any one is interested, it seems like Harry Callahan "Cape Cod" seascapes are moving up in price. The one here (lot 176, a printed later copy) sold to a phone bidder for nearly double the low estimate at $11,400. They are a lot cheaper than Sugimoto's at $60,000 and they are rarer, although smaller in size.

Robert Frank's iconic "Political Rally, Chicago" (lot 178), or better known as Tuba Player and Flag, was estimated at only $30,000-50,000. The printed-later image was bid up by Frank's NY dealer Peter MacGill, against the phones and Santa Monica dealer Rose Shoshana, to well over the high estimate at $84,000.

A Diane Arbus/Neil Selkirk print of "Albino Sword Swallower at a Carnival" (lot 181) was a battle between Arbus dealer Jeffrey Fraenkel and the phone, and the private collector on the phone won at just over the high estimate at $38,400. An unsigned print by Diane Arbus of "Man and Wife in the Living One Room of a Nudist Camp, NJ" sold to the same collector, again on the phone, for the low estimate of $120,000, which placed the lot in a three-way tie for seventh place in the sale.

Garry Winogrand's "Women Are Beautiful" portfolio (lot 186) went to a phone bidder for what seemed to be a very good bargain at only $78,000, which was just above low estimate. At Phillips' October auction the group sold for $120,000 to dealer Lee Marks, which set a record for this portfolio. I did not view either group.

A Cindy Sherman Film Still (#18, lot 189) drew attention from the room and from the phones. It managed to eke over the high estimate at $66,000 and sell to a phone bidder.

Irving Penn did well with his ugly "Man with Pink Face, New Guinea" (lot 190) selling to a phone for more than double low estimate at $38,400. His "Vionnet Dress with Fan" sold to another phone for $33,600, almost the high estimate; and then a third phone bought "Bouchers, Paris" for $31,200, about double the high estimate.

The Helmut Newton market may be a bit slimmer than most people realize. Lot 196, Newton's Panoramic Nude with Gun, Villa d'Este, Como", only drew two bidders: the commission bid and a single phone. I believe it was the commission bidder who got the lot at the low estimate of $120,000, which put it in a three-way for sixth place in this sale.

Robert Mapplethorpe's X-Portfolio (lot 199) sold to a phone bidder for the low estimate at $36,000 and about $10,000 less than at Christie's October sale.

William Eggleston's Elvis's Piano (lot 204) sold to the phone for midrange at $31,200.

Peter Lindbergh, who on his top images has been performing well at auction, did well here with lot 206, a large print of "Tatjana Patitz, French Vogue, Café de Flore, Paris", which sold to a phone bidder for more than double the low estimate at $78,000.

Peter Beard's prints continued to do well. It makes me I wonder how much bodily fluids he has left. Lot 209, Beard's iconic Maureen Gallagher and Late-Night Feeder", sold for $60,000 more than a similar print of it did during Christie's Elfering auction in October. Dealers Michael Hoppen and Rose Shoshana both attempted to take this giraffe and nude home, but it was the phone that had the dubious distinction at $156,000, which put the lot into fourth place in the Top Ten here and the second highest price paid for a Beard at auction. Unlike the earlier Christie's print, I was not enthused by the quality of this print though, and I am curious to how many Beard will make, blood or no blood.

The last big (both in size and price) lot to sell here was Hiroshi Sugimoto's 58-3/4 x 47 in. "Guggenheim Museum, NY" (lot 211). A couple in the room grabbed it at just under the high estimate at $114,000, which edged the lot into tenth place. It's a lot of dough for just a shadow. Sugimoto's drive-in images also did very well, selling for between $19,200 and $38,400.

Sotheby's had a very successful auction, and the rest of the week of auctions also performed well. Those reports will come a bit later.
 

Artcurial of Paris has scheduled a fine photography sale on May 22nd. Featured in the sale is a remarkable set of autochromes, most of them by the Lumière Brothers or Tournassoud, including the "Lumière's Retable", a wood panel inserted with 21 early autochromes, shown at the Exposition Universelle of Brussels in 1910 (estimate 70 000/90 000 euros).

The auction includes vintage prints by Irving Penn, notably a portrait of Herbert Von Karajan and a portrait of George Balanchine and his wife from 1948.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is represented by a series of 1960s prints, including some very famous images, Bords de la Marne, 1938, or Enfants aux Béquilles, Séville, 1933.

The auction will include a fine group of vintage Doisneau, including an "other" version of Baiser de l'Hôtel de Ville, 1950, and the legendary Tabou, 1948.

Two contact prints from the André Kertesz Distortion series, one with cropping indications in red on the image, will be offered in the sale.

Three rare Peter Hujar's vintage prints and a great set of six Christer Stromholm later prints are some of fine contemporary work in the sale. There is also a Robert Mapplethorpe "Orchid" from 1986.

Other artists represented by work in the auction include: Albin-Guillot, Avedon, Atget, Bailey, Ballen, Boubat, Bourne, Brandli, Brassaï, Cartier-Bresson, Charbonnier, Clergue, Doisneau, Frith, Garanger, Gasparini, Gimpel, Goldin, Hockney, Haviland, Hujar, Kertesz, Koppitz, Krull, Langer, Lartigue, Le Gray, Leventhal, Lumière, Man Ray, Mapplethorpe, Marville, Molinier, Neshat, Newton, Penn, Riboud, Ronis, Roth, Sieff, Stern, Stettner, Sturges, Sudek, Sugar, Swiners, Tournassoud, Turbeville, and more.

The auction will be held Monday, May 22, 2006 at 4 pm at Artcurial, Hotel Dassault, 7-9 Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées, 75008, Paris, France, tel: +33 (0) 1 42 99 20 20. The public previewing is 5/19 and 20, 11am -7pm; 5/21, 11am - 6pm. There is private viewing on Monday until 2 pm. For further information email: gleroy@artcurial.com . The online catalogue for the auction can be found at : http://www.auction.fr/cp/artcurial/ .
 

The Spring photography auction at Bassenge is offering a wide selection of almost 400 prints ranging from the earliest photographers such as William Henry Fox Talbot to cutting edge contemporary photographers such as Gregory Crewdson.

Highlights of the 19th century are three talbotypes: "The Ladder" from the Pencil of Nature by William Henry Fox Talbot, most probably varnished by the photographer himself, "Officer on board HMS Superb" by Nicolaas Henneman and "A View of the Island of Malta" by Richard Calvert Jones. Of special interest is an album comprising 150 albumen views of Rome by James and Domenico Anderson.

Ethnographic and travel photography is again well-represented in several lots with rare fine prints showing people of Bhutan circa 1870, as well as botanical images from Ceylon and India. A fine album with views and people of Japan which includes works by Felice Beato, Kusakabe Kimbei and Raimund Stillfried von Rathenitz is being offered. A high-quality half-plate daguerreotype, most probably American, showing four women in fine costume and ornate hairstyles is included in the sale. The important book by Duchenne de Boulogne "Mechanisme de la physiognomie humaine" from 1862 with 21 mounted photographs depicting de Boulogne's experiments with electricity and human physiognomy is also being offered (est. 8,000 Euro). Other important 19th century photographers in the auction include: Fratelli Alinari, Edouard Baldus, Felice Beato, Samuel Bourne and Charles Shepherd, Adolphe Braun, Roger Fenton, Wilhelm von Gloeden, Andreas Groll, Wilhelm Hammerschmidt, Kusakabe Kimbei, Etienne-Jules Marey, Charles Marville, James Robertson, Charles Scowen, W. L. H. Skeen, Vittorio Stella and Giorgio Sommer.

The 20th century and contemporary section includes Eugene Atget's "Rue de Lille". A 1909 vintage print by Lewis W. Hine shows a group of children in front of a canning factory in Baltimore. Brassaï's vintage print of "Jambes" from 1937 is also included. Among four beautiful prints by Josef Breitenbach are two artist's portraits, one of Maillol and one of James Joyce, as well as a tree study and a reclining female nude from 1963.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is represented with three moderately priced prints among them a beautiful fair scene in France from 1950. A rare early vintage print by Leni Riefenstahl from 1933 shows a dynamic view of a sports stadium with the spectators under umbrellas, an unusual example of her early work before the 1936 Olympic Games.

Robert Doisneau's vintage print "rue Guerin-Boisseau" shows a prostitute waiting for her next customer. There are two attractive prints by Andreas Feininger showing New York City scenes "9th Avenue El" and "Brooklyn Bridge". Another Magnum photographer represented is Inge Morath with three Spanish scenes taken during the mid-day heat in Toledo.

Among the contemporary work in the sale, a vintage print of "The Brown Sisters" 1978 by Nicholas Nixon is featured. The Bechers' typology of 16 blast furnaces is being offered as a reasonably priced fine collotype. A double portrait of Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys from an edition of 50 is included. "Production Still (Clover Street #2)" is a recent C-print by Gregory Crewdson. Candida Höfer's brightly colored C-print of the cafeteria of the SPIEGEL office in Hamburg from an edition of 100 brings 1970s decor to mind.

Admirers of pictorial photography also can find several prints, such as L. Misonne's oil-pigment print of a country scene in Holland with very dramatic cloud formations or Lehnert and Landrock's desert panoramas.

More experimental photography is offered with prints by Maurice Tabard and Jaroslav Rössler, whose unique vintage print from 1931 shows multiple exposures of a woman.

Other photographers include: Cecil Beaton, Robert and Cornell Capa, Jewgeni Chaldej, Anton Corbijn, Frantisek Drtikol, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Hugo Erfurth, Larry Fink, J. Foncuberta, Leonard Freed, R. Gibson, F. C. Gundlach, Robert Häusser, Raoul Hausmann, Heinrich Heidersberger, Peter Keetman, Horst P. Horst, Fritz Henle, Edmund Kesting, Rudolf Koppitz, Adolf and Franz Lazi, Digne Meller-Marcovic, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Sasha Stone, Jan Saudek, Gundula Schulze Eldowy, Edward Steichen, Louis Stettner, Sasha Stone, Paul Strand, Josef Sudek, Maurice Tabard, Herbert Tobias, Andre Villers, Weegee, Brett Weston, Paul Woolf and George S. Zimbel.

If you have any questions or need condition reports, please contact the photography expert Jennifer Augustyniak, Tel.: +4930 219 97 277 Fax: +4930 219 97 105 or e-mail jennifer@bassenge.com .

The auction will be held on May 31, 2006 at 15:00, Erdener Str. 5a, 14193 Berlin, Germany, tel.: +4930 893 80290, fax.: +4930 89180 25.

You can preview the work from May 18-27 and May 29-30, from 10-18:00, as well as by appointment, at Rankestr. 24, 10789 Berlin, Germany (near the Gedächtniskirche), tel.: +49 30 219 97 277. The online catalogue can be found at: http://www.bassenge.com .
 

On May 31st, more than 300 works of historic, classic and modern photography will be auctioned at Van Ham Fine Art Auctions in Cologne. The works of famous German and international photographers of 19th through the 21st century will be on offer.

Contemporary photography, in particular the works of the so-called Becher-school, is the main focus of this Spring's auction. Large scale works of the Becher-school are represented by Thomas Ruff, Candida Hoefer and Claus Goedicke (2.200-5.800 €). Black-and-white prints of Becher student Tata Ronkholz from the 1970s will be included, who will be represented by her most typical works from the "Trinkhalle" and "Industrietore" (industry gates) series.

International contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto, Miriam Bäckström, Sarah Jones and Bettina Rheims will also be represented at the auction.

The oeuvre of the photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch will be represented by a unique series of his early photographs of plants. Some of them were published in his early publications "The World is Beautiful" (1928), "Orchideas" (1924) and "Cactus" (1930). These works are from the estate of the writer, who was a friend of Renger-Patzsch. Nineteen unpublished letters from the same provenance will be auctioned, as well as five early vintage prints from the 1920/30s. These photographs are illustrated in his famous early publications "The Halligen" (1927), "The World is Beautiful" (1928) and "Hamburg" (1930).

One of the highlights of this spring auction is the peasant women portrait made by August Sander. This large print is dated 1913.

Original prints of high quality architectural images from the Hugo Schmölz studio in Cologne forms the traditional emphasis of our photography department and will be included in this sale.

The artist's group "fotoform" is represented by works by Peter Keetmann, Toni Schneiders and Ludwig Windstosser. A series of original prints by Heinrich Riebesehl is also worth mentioning.

Two remarkable portraits made by famed fashion photographer Sir Cecil Beaton are included in the auction. One of them was printed by Erwin Blumenfeld. Beaton himself is depicted in two rare portraits by American surrealistic poet Charles Henri Ford.

Nineteenth-century photography is represented by a small but choice group of pictures, such as "Brig on the Water" by Gustave Le Gray and five large albumen prints by Carleton E. Watkins. The latter prints show impressive landscapes of the American West. Among these images are two of Yosemite Valley.

The auction will be held on May 31st at 6 pm at Van Ham Fine Art Auctions, Schoenhauser Str. 10-16, 50968, Cologne, Germany, tel.: +49 (0)221 92 58 62 28. The preview will be held from 5/23-29, W-Tu, 10am-5pm, except Sa, 10am-4pm and S, 11am-4pm. For further information Email: a.gantefuehrer-trier@van-ham.com . The online catalogue of the auction can be found at http://www.van-ham.com .
 

Photographer Marcus Doyle, who is represented by Vintage Works, Ltd., Chalfont, PA, and France Lejeune Fine Arts, Knokke, Belgium, has been getting a lot of press lately.

Doyle, who is known for his intensely colored nightscapes, has just had an eight-page article with photographs appear in the leading Scandinavian photography publication, Fotografi, which is published out of Norway, but is available throughout Europe.

In addition, Harper's magazine's May issue has a photograph (Monument Diner) by Doyle in its "Reader's Section", which is devoted to up-and-coming artists and authors. It appears on page 23.

Vintage Works, Ltd. will be showing Marcus Doyle's work at Photo San Francisco at the Fort Mason Center, July 20-23. His largest and most-limited edition print, which is his newest work, is "Blue Pool, Iceland". The huge four by five foot piece will be limited to three prints, plus two artist proofs, and will start at $20,000. Other Doyle images start from $2,000 and go up.

Just a reminder that Vintage Works, Ltd. is offering for sale a limited edition book entitled: Marcus Doyle: Night Vision/Intimacies of an Unblinking Eye. Twenty-six photographs by Doyle are reproduced in full color and are accompanied by an essay by Matt Damsker.

The 32-page book is offered in a special edition, which is cloth hardbound (plus dust jacket) and slip-cased and comes with an 8 x 10 inch signed and editioned photograph and is limited to only 100 copies (ISBN 0-9771415-1-9), for a starting price of $500. The price goes up $100 for each 20 sold. A softbound edition, limited to 1,400 copies (ISBN 0-9771415-0-0), is priced at $39.95.

To view some of Marcus Doyle's images, you can go to http://www.iphotocentral.com/showcase/showcase_view.php/57/1/1 .

To order either the softbound or the hardbound copy with print directly, contact Vintage Works, Ltd. at 1-215-822-5662, or email info@vintageworks.net . During the Spring Sale on I Photo Central (now until June 21, 2006), we will waive the shipping price within the U.S. Softbound copies will ship media rate and the hardbound copies with print will ship priority mail/insured.

The book is also available at these fine photography bookstores and art dealers:

France Lejeune Fine Art
Antoine Bréartstraat 13b
8300 Knokke
BELGIUM
Phone: +32 485 43 23 27
Fax: +32 15 33 62 12
Email: france.fine.art@pandora.be .

Libreria Kowasa
Mallorca 235
08008 Barcelona
SPAIN
http://www.kowasa.com/ .
Tel.: +34 93 487 61 37
Fax: +34 93 215 80 54
Email: info@kowasa.com .
Hours: M-Sa, 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 8:30 pm

Arcana Books on the Arts
1229 Third St Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Tel: +1-310-458-1499
Fax: +1-310-458-9014
Email: order@arcanabooks.com .
http://www.ArcanaBooks.com/ .
Hours: M-Sa, 10 am to 6 pm, and Su, 12 pm to 6 pm

Michael Dawson's Book Shop
535 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tel: + 323-469-2186
Fax: + 323-469-9553
Email: orders@dawsonbooks.com .
http://www.michaeldawsongallery.com/ .
Hours: W-Sa, 10 am-5 pm, and M and Tu by appointment

D A Information Services
648 Whitehorse Road
Mitcham Victoria 3132
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 3 9210 7777
Fax: +61 3 9210 7788
Email: service@dadirect.com.au .
http://www.dadirect.com.au .

If you are a bookstore and would like to stock this book, please contact Alex Novak at 1-215-822-5662.
 

I will be traveling to the Paris and London photography auctions coming up in May. If you would like me to bring specific prints to see while I am in these cities and would like me to preview and/or bid for items at auction there, please call my office now. While I am already traveling, auction previews and bids can be made about two or three days before the actual auction itself by either calling my Asst. Director Marthe Smith at 1-215-822-5662 or me directly (after May 11) on my French mobile at 011-33-698925018. If you wish to reach me by email directly, you must use my anovak@iphotocentral.com email address. The other emails will go to my office in Pennsylvania.

My company Vintage Works, Ltd.'s auction services are charged at 5% of the successful hammer price against a minimum of $250 in Europe. The minimum includes items that you are unsuccessful for or those that we warn you off of. The minimum is the same for one item or five items per auction. In other words, it is only $250 total (not per lot) to check out up to five auction lots (for more than five lots, please call). Usually, if you want us to actually bid for you, you will have to fax your details to the auction house with a signed authorization for us to do this. That is one of the reasons why it is best not to wait until the last few days. We never accept competing bids for the same lot and will only accept one client per lot to avoid any conflicts.
 

Please visit the Special Spring Clearance sale on I Photo Central, which is brought to you by our photography dealers. These items are available at special sale prices (from 20 to over 60% off the regular list price) for only a limited time, from now until only June 21st. Many of the items regular list prices were reduced earlier by over 20%, so the actual net reductions may be well over 40% to 80% in many instances. These are all final prices, so no other discounts apply. Shipping/insurance may also be added. After June 21st prices will revert on these items to the original list price.

There are some great deals, so check them out soon at: http://www.iphotocentral.com/sale/sale.php .

If you want to do further sorts on the sale list, you can go to the Search Images page at http://www.iphotocentral.com/search/search.php and put SpringClearanceSale2 into the key word field. Then you can also use the other search fields, such as price range, country, etc. When you have all your choices made, simply hit the Search button (not the Show All Images button). When you put in the key word, you must have the capital letters in properly and no space between the words or the number "1". Also make sure you do not have any extra space after the key word. This way if you are bargain hunting, you can put in a range from $1 to $500, or if you want to focus on the top end, just put in a range from $1,000 (or $2,500 or $5,000) to No Limit.
 

Photo San Francisco will be held this year at the Festival Pavilon at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, CA.

The exhibit show will kick off with a Special Charity Preview for SFMOMA on Thursday, July 20th from 6-9 pm.

The regular show hours are: 7/21-22, Friday-Saturday, 12-7 pm and 7/23, Sunday 12-6 pm.

To preorder tickets and for more information, call 1-323-937-4659 or email info@artfairsinc.com . Or you can go the show's website at http://artfairsinc.com/photosf/2006/index.html .