Eugène Atget: Documents Pour Artistes @MoMA

JTF (just the facts): A total of 107 photographs and 1 negative (in a lightbox), framed in brown wood and matted, and hung against light blue walls in a two room divided gallery on the 3rd floor. All of the works are gelatin silver printing out paper, matte albumen silver, or albumen silver prints, taken between 1898 and 1925. The works come from the Abbott-Levy Collection at MoMA. The exhibit was curated by Sarah Meister. (Installation shots at right.)

The show is divided into 6 sections, with the number of photographs on view in each in parentheses:

People of Paris (24)
Courtyards (14)
Jardin de Luxembourg (13)
Parc de Sceaux (24)
Surrogates and the Surreal (13)
Fifth Arrondissement (19)

Comments/Context: The encyclopedic 4 volume set, the single volume monograph with matching Szarkowski texts, countless exhibits over the years, it's hard to imagine a stronger champion for the work of Eugène Atget (beyond Berenice Abbott of course) than the photography department at MoMA. It might also be hard to fathom exactly what more there might be to say about Atget that hasn't already been said more eloquently elsewhere, and yet this new show does an admirable job of cutting a new cross section through the museum's Atget holdings and showing us a crisp mix of the known and unknown in equally thoughtful measure.
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The title of the exhibition Documents Pour Artistes references Atget's own sign outside his humble place of business, and in a retro-chic kind of way announces him as being in on the appropriation joke far before almost everyone else. Indeed, his whole approach was predicated on the idea that artists would want to borrow from his photographs and use them as guides. For those visitors with a more contemporary postmodern bent, this positioning is a subtle reminder that Atget is still very relevant to the artistic issues of the day.
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Several sections of the show will seem happily familiar: courtyards, doors, and entryways, surrounded by layers of interior and exterior space, the Luxembourg gardens, with statues, urns, roses, and reflecting pools, and the facades of buildings, complete with sculptural stonework and elaborate iron. These cobblestone Paris streets, angled buildings, and formal gardens are the Atget we know and love, and the power of these photographs has not dimmed with age or repeated viewing.
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The other three sections take a slightly less traveled path through the Atget archive. One gathers together Atget's images of people, relative rarities in his prolific career. His portraits center on vendors (lampshades, wire baskets, figurines, bread), rag pickers, and prostitutes, subjects who could be easily found on the streets and in the alleys. The are mostly full length shots, often capturing idiosyncratic Parisian nuances and personalities. A second grouping follows the theme of Atget's unintentional popularity among the Surrealists. These photographs are quirky and odd, many of storefronts and dusty window displays: headless mannequins, a seance clock, taxidermy, a skeleton, hairdressers' wigs, corsets, and spooky merry go rounds. A third group collects many of his late images of the Parc de Sceaux. In comparison with the formality of the Luxembourg garden images, these pictures are moody and wild, with overgrown ivy, bare trees, broken statues, and crumbling stairways. His lakeside reflections and shadowy and atmospheric, darker and more romantic. The whole series is full of lovely decaying grandeur.

Even for those who think they already know Atget, this show will be both satisfying and perspective broadening. It's also a refreshing reminder that small, well curated shows of vintage photography can still be new and exciting.
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Collector's POV: Given this is a museum show, there are of course no prices. Atget's works are consistently available in the secondary markets, with unknown images and later prints by Berenice Abbott selling at auction for as little as $2000, and iconic works finding buyers well into six figures; rare Atgets have recently pushed up towards $700000. In general, high quality vintage images of Paris street scenes are often priced in the low to mid five figure range.

Rating: ** (two stars) VERY GOOD (rating system described here)
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Transit Hub:

• Features/Reviews: Time LightBox (here), TimeOut New York (here), Capital New York (here)

Eugène Atget: Documents Pour Artistes
Through April 9th

Museum of Modern Art

11 West 53rd Street

New York, NY 10019

Auction Results: Photographs, April 8, 2011 @Christie's

Christie's finished up its successful run of photography sales last week with its various owner auction, which like its two predecessors, also found its way to besting the pre-sale estimate range. Across a much bigger sale, the overall Buy-In rate was still under 20%, there were a number of positive surprises, and the Total Sale Proceeds covered the High estimate by more than $300K.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 211

Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $3403000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $5046000
Total Lots Sold: 170
Total Lots Bought In: 41

Buy In %: 19.43%

Total Sale Proceeds: $5367500

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 93
Low Sold: 71
Low Bought In: 22
Buy In %: 23.66%
Total Low Estimate: $570000
Total Low Sold: $533500

Mid Total Lots: 101
Mid Sold: 83
Mid Bought In: 18
Buy In %: 17.82%
Total Mid Estimate: $2346000
Total Mid Sold: $2266250

High Total Lots: 17
High Sold: 16
High Bought In: 1
Buy In %: 5.88%
Total High Estimate: $2130000
Total High Sold: $2567750

The top lot by High estimate was lot 561, Irving Penn, Cuzco Children, 1948/1977, at $250000-350000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 504, Richard Avedon, Marilyn Monroe, New York City, May 6, 1957, 1980, at $482500.

94.12% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range, and there were a total of 20 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 410, Robert Mapplethorpe, Orchid, 1982, at $27500
Lot 412, Robert Mapplethorpe, Flower arrangement, 1988, at $32500
Lot 413, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tulip, 1984, at $40000 (image at right, top, via Christie's)
Lot 415, Robert Mapplethorpe, Orchid, 1985, at $35000
Lot 484, Etienne-Jules Marey, Chronophotographie du salt en longeur, 1882-83, at $43750
Lot 488, Sergei Alekseevich Luchishkin, Project for a Spatial Construct, 1922-23, at $25000
Lot 489, Unknown Photographer, Princess Alexandra, 1920, at $4000
Lot 490, Guillaume Duchenne De Boulogne, Studies from Photographies Pathologiques, 1865, at $4000
Lot 511, Andre Kertesz, A Hungarian Memory, 1980, at $25000

Lot 536, Bruce Weber, John Sauerland, Olympic Swimmer, Hall of Fame Pool, Summer, 1983, at $13750

Lot 539, Bruce Weber, Boys from Red Cloud, Nebraska, 198, at $8125
Lot 546, Bruce Weber, Kenny, Honolulu, 1982, at $6000

Lot 550, Bruce Weber, George, Upper Saranac Lake, Summer, 1983, at $7500

Lot 553, Bruce Weber, Butterfly Beach Parking Lot, Santa Barbara, 1982, at $16250 (image at right, bottom, via Christie's)

Lot 554, Peter Beard, Last Word from Paradise, Loliondo, from The End of the Game, ?/Later, at $80500

Lot 562, Erwin Olaf, Grief, Troy, 2007, at $14375

Lot 573, Irving Penn, Bee on Lips, New York, September 22, 1995/1999, at $182500

Lot 578, Irving Penn, After Dinner Games, New York, 1947/1985, at $158500

Lot 593, Eugene Atget, La Villette, rue Asselin, 1921, at $242500 (image at right, middle, via Christie's)

Lot 594, Herb Ritts, Fred, Body Shop, Los Angeles, Summer 1984, at $18750

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Christie's

20 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10020

Auction Results: Selections from the Baio Collection of Photography, April 15, 2010 @Christie's

Sometimes the fate of an auction turns on the fight for just one lot. Such was the case with the single owner Baio Collection sale earlier today, where a skyrocketing Atget image (to more than 4.5 times its high estimate) helped push a sale that was heading for a normal, middle of the range kind of outcome into the joyful zone well above the total High estimate.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 120
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $735500
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $1080500
Total Lots Sold: 86
Total Lots Bought In: 34
Buy In %: 28.33%
Total Sale Proceeds: $1425500

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 98
Low Sold: 71
Low Bought In: 27
Buy In %: 27.55%
Total Low Estimate: $536500
Total Low Sold: $391500

Mid Total Lots: 21
Mid Sold: 14
Mid Bought In: 7
Buy In %: 33.33%
Total Mid Estimate: $394000

Total Mid Sold: $347500

High Total Lots: 1
High Sold: 1
High Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 00.00%
Total High Estimate: $150000
Total High Sold: $686500
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The top lot by High estimate was lot 171, Eugène Atget, Joueur d'Orgue, 1898-1899, at $100000-150000; it was also the top outcome of the sale (by far) at $686500. (Image at right, top, via Christie's.)

100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range (not a single lot sold below the range, which is pretty unusual). There were a total of 7 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

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Lot 112, Loretta Lux, Paulin, 2002, at $30000 (image at right, via Christie's)

Lot 151, Weegee, Summer, the Lower East Side, c1937, at $20000

Lot 166, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled, 1994, at $4000

Lot 171, Eugene Atget, Joueur d'Orgue, 1898-1899, at $686500

Lot 175, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, The Water's Edge (Hungarian Sea), c1929, at $52500

Lot 191, Will McBride, Mike with other students in the 'shower', Schlosschule Salem, 1963/1970s, at $6875

Lot 204, Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, Head #23, 2000, at $52500

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Christie's
20 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020

Atget, Archivist of Paris @ICP

JTF (just the facts): A total of 26 photographs, framed in brown wood and matted, and hung against light blue walls in a single room gallery on the lower level of the museum. All of the prints in the exhibit are albumen silver prints drawn from ICP's permanent collection and were made between 1898 and 1927. Christopher Phillips was the curator of this small exhibit. (Since photography is not allowed in the ICP galleries, there are unfortunately no installation shots for this show. Eugène Atget, Le parc du Saint-Cloud, 1905-1915, at right, via the ICP website.)

Comments/Context: This selection of Atget prints can best be thought of as an adjunct to the larger Twilight Visions show now on view at the ICP; it provides further background and precedent to the work from the 1920s and 1930s in the nearby rooms.

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Many of the images on view are close-ups of architectural details: ornate and decorative staircase railings, lion-headed doorknockers, and elaborately carved stone figures attached to Parisian bridges and fountains. Another grid of works documents the towering iron gates of public parks, shop fronts, interior courtyards, doors, and houses with thatched roofs - the vanishing details of an older way of life.

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What's important here is that this small group of pictures provides a clear representation of the "before": the straightforward (and masterful) documentation of the history of the city prior to the changes brought on by modernization. The works in the Twilight Visions show then deliver the "after": a look at how the vision of Paris was then transformed. While this show doesn't merit a special trip on its own, it does a good job of providing additional context for the main attraction.

Collector's POV: Atget's works are routinely available in the secondary markets at this point, with unknown images or later prints by Berenice Abbott selling for as little as $2000, and iconic works finding buyers well into six figures; a rare Atget nude was one of the top 10 photography lots of 2009, coming in at over $630000. High quality vintage images of Paris street scenes are consistently priced in the low to mid five figure range.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Atget in public collections: George Eastman House (here), Getty (here), Met (here)

Atget, Archivist of Paris

Through May 9th

International Center of Photography

1133 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

Charles Marville, Paris Before Lartigue @Greenberg

JTF (just the facts): A total off 11 albumen prints (from wet collodion negatives), framed in brown and matted, and hung in the book alcove. The images were taken and printed in the 1860s/1870s, and are approximately 11x14 or reverse. (Installation shot at right, top.)

There are three other supporting exhibits also on view in the side galleries:

• Eugène Atget: 8 images, a mix of albumen, arrowroot and gelatin silver chloride prints, taken between 1900 and 1926, all approximately 9x7 or reverse, framed in black and matted, against green walls. (Installation shot at right, bottom.)
• Brassaï: 9 images, all gelatin silver prints, taken in the 1930s and mostly printed later, generally 12x9, framed in black and matted, in one of the viewing rooms.
• John Collins: 10 images, all gelatin silver prints, taken in 1917, all approximately 4x5, framed in black and matted, in the other viewing room.

Comments/Context: The Marville exhibit now on view at Greenberg is really just one of four supporting shows that give the larger Lartigue exhibit some historical and visual context. The Marville works are the earliest in terms of chronology, documenting Paris in the mid-19th century; most are from his series of streetlamps (some free standing, others attached to gates, fences and railings), while the rest are empty street scenes, full of cobblestone intersections, horse carriages, and patterned buildings. Marville is perhaps my favorite 19th century architectural photographer; the crispness of his images has a "modern" feeling that foreshadows what would come along decades later and the tonalities of his prints are always rich and tactile.

The back room near Greenberg's office holds a group of Atget street scenes from the early 20th century (a few park and quay images are also mixed in), dark and shadowy views of inward leaning alleys and dense building facades. One of the side viewing rooms holds a group of Brassaï cafe scenes and night views from the 1930s, the other an earlier set of small Paris views (the Arc de Triomphe, the Seine etc.) by John Collins.

While none of these mini-shows really merits a special visit on its own, together they provide an excellent backdrop and contrast for the Lartigue show. In particular, they highlight how different Lartigue's approach really was; while the others were captivated by the details of the changing architecture of Paris, Lartigue was seeing the people, brimming with energy and life.

Collector's POV: The Marville images in the show are priced between $15000 and $40000. In the side galleries, the Atgets are priced between $12000 and $30000, the Brassaïs are $8000 to $25000, and the works by John Collins are $1000 each.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Marville in MoMA collection (here), in SFMOMA collection (here)
• Book: John F. Collins Photographs, 1904-1946 (here)

Charles Marville, Paris Before Lartigue
Through October 24th

Howard Greenberg Gallery
41 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022