Fan Ho originally titled this work Back Lane, as written on the print verso in the artist’s hand, and later changed the title to Hong Kong Slum. This work is appearing at auction for the first time and no more than three prints of this image are known exist.

Chinese photographer Fan Ho is celebrated for his remarkable black-and-white photographs of Hong Kong taken in the 1950s and 60s. Drawn to the daily lives of the city’s inhabitants, he chose to photograph in marketplaces and alleyways in search of beautiful, tranquil moments hidden within the urban chaos. His experimentations with camera angles and cropping as well as his dramatic use of light and shadow resulted in highly stylised street scenes. Appearing at auction for the first time, the two early prints offered here – Hurrying Home, 1956 (lot 9) and Hong Kong Slum, 1962 (lot 8) – are exceptional examples of Fan Ho’s compositional mastery and experimental vision.

Born in Shanghai in 1931, Fan Ho was only 14 when he began taking photographs with his father’s Kodak Brownie camera, marking the beginning of a lifelong passion with photography. In 1949, at the age of 18, he moved to Hong Kong and was given by his father a twins lens Rolleiflex camera with which he pursued his street photography. During his 50-year career as a photographer and filmmaker, Fan Ho has won nearly 300 awards and titles, both locally and internationally. His work is held in such prominent institutions as the Bibliothèque nationale de France, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and M+, Hong Kong.