Lewis Wickes Hine - Photographs New York Wednesday, October 11, 2023 | Phillips

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  • This print comes from the collection of John Glasse (1922-2014), a pioneering collector from the early days of the photography market and a Professor of Religion at Vassar College from 1956 to 1990.


    Glasse maintained a lifelong interest in photography. As a teenager in Alaska in the 1930s, he photographed candid scenes of Juneau’s residents and the Alaskan wilderness and worked as a freelance photographer. During his adult years, he continued photographing and experimenting with different formats and techniques. Glasse began collecting as a young adult and continued to build and rotate his collection through the 1980s, focusing on major Twentieth Century photographers. The work of Paul Strand was a particular interest and Glasse curated an exhibition of Strand’s photographs at the Vassar College Art Gallery in 1977. He enjoyed corresponding with the artists in his collection to learn the background story of specific images and to share his appreciation of their work. In several instances he purchased directly from the photographers, in addition to patronizing the first generation of photography galleries in New York City, including Witkin Gallery and LIGHT.

    While Vassar College offered no formal training in photography during Glasse’s tenure, he served as an advisor to students pursuing independent study projects in the medium. In 1977 he said, 'Photography is one of the ways I find myself exploring the world. And by making my own photographs and seeing the work of others, I am exploring the medium itself. In terms of photography qua academic, as a philosopher of religion, I am engaged by the relation between aesthetics and religion. The theology of culture and the philosophy of religion have not been applied to photography. I would like to make a contribution to filling that gap.'

     
    • Provenance

      The Witkin Gallery, New York, 1970
      Collection of John Glasse, Poughkeepsie, New York
      By descent to the present owner

16

A little spinner in Globe Cotton Mill, Augusta, Ga

1909
Gelatin silver print.
4 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (11.7 x 16.8 cm)
'Original Lewis W. Hine Print Made for the National Labor Committee, The Witkin Gallery' label with title, date, and annotations in an unidentified hand in ink affixed to the reverse of the mount.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$15,000 - 25,000 

Sold for $17,780

Contact Specialist

Sarah Krueger
Head of Department, Photographs
skrueger@phillips.com

 

Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
vhallett@phillips.com

Photographs

New York Auction 11 October 2023