PHILLIPS TO OFFER COLOR VISION: MASTER PRINTS FROM GUY STRICHERZ AND IRENE MALLI, INCLUDING THE MOST DEFINITIVE GROUP OF WILLIAM EGGLESTON’S WORK TO APPEAR AT AUCTION
Landmark Auction on 18 March to Exclusively Feature Dye Transfer Prints by Eggleston, Including His Monumental Los Alamos Portfolio and the ‘Magnificent Seven,’ a Group of the Largest Dye Transfer Prints Made of His Most Iconic Images
A Series of Sales Continues Throughout 2025 to Highlight the Exemplary Craftsmanship of Master Dye Transfer Printers Stricherz and Malli with Works Created for Such Renowned Artists as William Eggleston, Evelyn Hofer, Bruce Davidson, Thomas Demand, Zoe Leonard, Hiro and Several Others
William Eggleston, Los Alamos (101 prints), 1964-74, selected images shown
NEW YORK – 20 FEBRUARY 2025 – Phillips is proud to present Color Vision: Master Prints from Guy Stricherz and Irene Malli, a series of auctions to take place over the course of 2025. The first auction, on 18 March, is devoted entirely to the work of William Eggleston. The works on offer are all the perfected master prints by which subsequent prints in a respective edition were judged. The auctions will showcase the extraordinary careers of Mr. Stricherz and Ms. Malli of Color Vision Imaging Laboratory (CVI Lab) in New York City. Stricherz and Malli’s meticulous control of the dye transfer process, from color separations to final prints, yielded works that are highly expressive, visually arresting, and archivally stable. As the primary printers working in this medium, Stricherz and Malli have steadily pushed the dye transfer technique forward into what is arguably the most compelling color format in existence. Over the years, they have collaborated with such renowned photographers as William Eggleston, Irving Penn, Joel Sternfeld, Annie Leibovitz, Thomas Demand, Zoe Leonard, Hiro, and many others, allowing these artists to realize their artistic vision in the finest prints possible. In all, Phillips will offer over 150 lots representing the life’s work of the most trusted color printers of the past four decades. Because the Kodak company ceased the manufacture of dye transfer materials in 1994, no new examples of these works will ever be produced in this process. Color Vision thus marks a unique opportunity for collectors to acquire the premier examples in existence.
Guy Stricherz said, “It has always been our goal to create the world’s finest color photographic prints. Over the years Irene and I have devoted ourselves to the dye transfer process, the printing technique that most closely simulates human color vision. Cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes combine within the print to produce a depth of tone and color that is unparalleled in any medium in the history of photography. It has been the greatest honor of our career to have printed the magnificent work of William Eggleston, and we are now ready to share these works with the world.”
Vanessa Hallett, Deputy Chairwoman and Worldwide Head of Photographs, said, “Masters of the exacting dye transfer process, Guy Stricherz and Irene Malli have earned legendary status for the incomparable quality of their work. Through their collaboration with some of the preeminent artists of the 20th century, they played a crucial role in raising the standard for color photography and bringing it to the forefront of artistic discourse. Phillips is honored to have been entrusted with, what is undoubtedly, the ultimate achievement of Eggleston’s oeuvre. The works being offered in March are the definitive prints, representing the ideal union of the skills of Eggleston and his trusted printers. It is a true privilege to share them with Phillips’ community of collectors around the globe.”
18 MARCH
Color Vision: Masterworks by William Eggleston from Guy Stricherz and Irene Malli
The first sale from Stricherz and Malli’s collection is an unprecedented offering of William Eggleston’s finest work. Eggleston’s photographs, particularly those created through the dye transfer process, use color to heighten and reveal the understated lyricism in everyday life. Although influenced by documentarians Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, and Walker Evans, Eggleston broke away from traditional black-and-white photography and began experimenting with color in the late 1960s – a time when color photography was widely associated with commercial advertising. Giving color equal standing with subject matter and composition, Eggleston triggered a change in the direction of fine art photography when he received a solo exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in 1976. The show fundamentally shifted how color photography was viewed within an art context, ushering in institutional acceptance and helping to ensure Eggleston's legacy.
Leading the auction on 18 March is Los Alamos, the monumental portfolio representing the definitive collection of Eggleston’s work between 1965 and 1974, marking his first full exploration of the potential of color in photography [selection of images illustrated on page 1]. The set will be offered together with two additional groups of 13 dye transfer prints each, Cousins and Lost and Found. Together, the complete portfolio encompasses a grand total of 101 photographs and constitutes the complete master set of this body of work. Sets of the originally issued portfolio of 75 prints are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Museum Ludwig, Cologne. The portfolio offered here comprises the only complete and comprehensive set of Los Alamos to be offered at auction.
Also among the top lots on 18 March are Eggleston’s “Magnificent Seven,” a suite of seven large-format dye transfer prints of his most iconic photographs. These are the largest dye transfer prints ever made of these images and the first time they have appeared at auction in this monumental size. Perhaps the best-known of the suite is Memphis (tricycle). When Photographs by William Eggleston opened at MoMA in 1976, this photograph was reproduced on the cover of the accompanying book, William Eggleston’s Guide, and has since become the image most associated with this body of work.
Another “Magnificent Seven” image is Greenwood, Mississippi (red ceiling), 1973, which represented an aesthetic and technical challenge for both photographer and printers. Eggleston said, “The photograph was like a Bach exercise for me because I knew that red was the most difficult color to work with.” Dye transfer was the perfect medium for this endeavor as no other printing process before or since could produce a red of such saturated intensity. Eggleston’s requirements for this photograph were high, and master printers Stricherz and Malli were ideally suited for the task. The other six photographs within the “Magnificent Seven” suite are Untitled (Peaches!), Memphis (green shower), Untitled (Biloxi, Mississippi), Untitled (Devoe Money in Jackson, Mississippi), and Memphis (supermarket boy with carts).
Further prints from Color Vision: Master Prints from Guy Stricherz and Irene Malli will be offered in a dedicated auction in June and in subsequent sales throughout 2025.
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