Irving Penn - PHOTOGRAPHS New York Friday, October 8, 2010 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Fahey Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

  • Exhibited

    Chorus of Light: Photographs from the Sir Elton John Collection, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 4 November 2000- 28 January 2001, another example exhibited

  • Catalogue Essay

    Paul Tomlinson’s interest in fashion photography was triggered by his tenure as marketing director for an emerging fashion specialty chain in the late 1970s. Quickly thereafter, upon recognizing the relatively undiscovered talent of the leading photographers with whom he was privileged to collaborate, as well as the ample opportunities presented by the then-budding market for fashion photography, Mr. Tomlinson began amassing a collection that was as informed by guidance from fellow collectors, dealers and curators, as much as an unwavering trust of his own impeccable eye. With Herb Ritt’s Madonna, Hollywood, 1986, as one of the first seeds, Mr. Tomlinson’s collection gradually blossomed into a comprehensive repertoire, featuring works by photographers who, over the years, had come to form the pantheon of fashion photography, including Irving Penn, Horst P. Horst, Melvin Sokolsky, and Albert Watson. The collection’s impact was further reinforced by the artistic dialogue between works by the aforementioned photographers and those of non-fashion subject matter, such as Lynn Davis’s hauntingly beautiful icescapes. Citing “strength of imagery” and “distinctiveness” as deciding factors in his final selections, Mr. Tomlinson’s collection is one that has gracefully eschewed fads and trends in favor of a timeless style.

  • Artist Biography

    Irving Penn

    American • 1917 - 2009

    Arresting portraits, exquisite flowers, luscious food and glamorous models populate Irving Penn's meticulously rendered, masterful prints. Penn employed the elegant simplicity of a gray or white backdrop to pose his subjects, be it a model in the latest Parisian fashion, a famous subject or veiled women in Morocco.

    Irving Penn's distinct aesthetic transformed twentieth-century elegance and style, with each brilliant composition beautifully articulating his subjects. Working across several photographic mediums, Penn was a master printmaker. Regardless of the subject, each and every piece is rendered with supreme beauty. 

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PROPERTY FROM THE PAUL TOMLINSON COLLECTION, DALLAS

204

Gaultier Eye Earrings, New York

1998
Dye destruction print.
22 1/8 x 20 in. (56.2 x 50.8 cm).
Signed, titled, dated in pencil, copyright credit reproduction limitation and edition stamps on the verso. One from an edition of 6.

Estimate
$20,000 - 30,000 

Sold for $45,000

PHOTOGRAPHS

8 October 2010
New York