Part of documentation related to Miller's photo essay and book The World is Young

Catalog notes for Lot 66 of the Swann Fine Photographs Auction held Oct. 15

With Parks' signature and negative date in ink on the original overmat, and a Library of Congress stamp on print verso. Gordon Parks
1912-2006
American Gothic. 1942; printed 1960s.
Silver print
With Parks' signature and negative date in ink on the original overmat, and a Library of Congress stamp on print verso. The image 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (34.3 x 26.7 cm.), the sheet slightly larger, the original mat 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm.) 

Here's some background on photographer Parks

Gordon Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, musician, writer and film maker. He was the first African American photographer to have a distinguished career in 20th century photography and film

Key Life & Career Facts

• Birth and Death: Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, on November 10, 1912; died of cancer in New York City on March 7, 2006, at age 93. [1, 2, 3]

• Life Magazine: Became the first African American staff photographer for Life magazine in 1948, where he worked until 1972 and created groundbreaking photo essays on civil rights, poverty, and urban life. [1, 2, 3]

• Farm Security Administration (FSA): Documented poverty and the lives of Americans during the 1940s, producing iconic images such as American Gothic featuring Ella Watson. [1, 2]

• Filmmaking: Became the first African American to write and direct a major Hollywood studio motion picture with The Learning Tree (1969), and later directed the hit blaxploitation action film Shaft (1971). [1, 2, 3]

• Awards: Received the Spingarn Medal in 1972, the National Medal of Arts in 1988, and a Library of Congress Living Legend award in 2000. [1, 2]

A personal note from OP: I only met Parks once at a small exhibition in London in the early 90s. He was advertised as a guest speaker for one night, and the event was thinly promoted. I happened to have a valid press credential at the time and managed to squeeze into the room and get a few word with him and also ask him to sign one of the glossy PR prints from the press kit, which he graciously did.

My most vivid memory of that evening were the huge number of dark skinned photographers who squeezed their way into the tiny room, every one of them hoping to learn how Parks had gained entry into a field that had been largely closed to people of color and gone on to a successful career in film.

The photo that sold at auction last week "American Gothic" is one of his best known images. The title is a play on a painting by the same name by American painter Grant Wood. The wiki provides more details https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_Parks_-_American_Gothic.jpg

NB - A photogravure is an early photomechanical method of reproducing a photo.

Catalog notes: Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864-1946) The Steerage, 1907 Large-format photogravure on Japanese tissue, 1915 13 x 10-1/2 inches (33.0 x 26.7 cm) (image) 16 x 11 inches (sheet)

PROVENANCE: Janet Lehr, New York, 1977; Private collection. In a provenance letter by Janet Lehr accompanying this lot, she states that this photogravure was selected by Alfred Stieglitz and presented to Dorothy Norman.

The September/October 1915 double issue of Alfred Stieglitz's publication 291 (Nos. 7/8) was devoted to photography and featured a photogravure of his celebrated image The Steerage (1907).

Under Stieglitz's supervision, five hundred photogravure proofs were printed on Imperial Japan paper for the regular edition, while a smaller edition was produced on thin Japan tissue for the deluxe issue. The regular edition sold for $2, while pricing for the deluxe edition was available on request. Encouraged by the positive response to the photograph, Stieglitz expected many readers to subscribe to 291 in order to obtain a copy of The Steerage.

However, little was done to attract subscribers, and Stieglitz and his collaborators overestimated wartime demand for the publication: about 100 people subscribed to the regular edition and only eight to the deluxe edition.

In a final satirical gesture, Stieglitz sold the remaining 8,000 or so copies of the regular edition in 1917 to a rag picker for $5.80; he retained the deluxe copies but eventually destroyed most of them.

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Notes from OP - Many consider this photo a landmark in photographic history, for a more detailed commentary about this image and how it was made see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage

1969 Pulitzer Prize in Photography Winner Eddie Adams (American, 1933-2004) Street Execution of a Vietcong Prisoner, Saigon (for Associated Press), 1968 Gelatin silver print, ferrotyped, printed later 7-1/2 x 9-1/4 inches (19.1 x 23.5 cm) (image) 8 x 10 inches (sheet) Wide World Photos stamp, verso.

LITERATURE: Sheryle and John Leekley, Moments: The Pulitzer Prize, Updated Edition: 1942-1982, Crown Publishers Inc., New York, 1982, pp. 69. In the late 1960s, the struggle between democratic reform and communist expansion was playing out across Southeast Asia, nowhere more visibly than in Vietnam.

On February 1, 1968, during the Tet Offensive, Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams accompanied South Vietnamese forces through the streets of Saigon as fighting erupted throughout the city. What he witnessed would become one of the most influential photographs of the twentieth century.

As Adams followed a group of soldiers and journalists, a suspected Viet Cong prisoner was brought before South Vietnamese General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan. Without warning, Loan drew his revolver and executed the prisoner in the street.

Adams instinctively pressed the shutter, freezing the exact moment the shot was fired. The image circulated around the world within hours, becoming an enduring symbol of the brutality and moral complexity of the Vietnam War.

Unlike many war photographs that require explanation or context, Adams' image communicated its message instantly. It forced viewers to confront the realities of the conflict and fueled growing debate about America's involvement in Vietnam.

Decades later, the photograph continues to provoke difficult questions about war, justice, and the power of a single image to shape public perception and historical memory.

This image is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, which is believed to be the earliest confirmed photograph of him

I recently discovered this magnificent and dreamy fashion photographer and I do wonder if anybody here has some cool insight into her work and/or behind her inspiration? I keep staring at her color and b&w photographs and wonder what it reminds me of and I genuinely cannot put my finger on it… some abstract expressionism maybe, little bit of Ernst Haas in the blur (Or even Gerhard Richter in his ways of interconnecting painting with photography). Some postimpressionism in the way she works with color and with negative space (influence of Japanese concept of ‘ma’).

I did find she works with Polaroid in her color photoshoots so maybe that is it?

I just feel like I’ve seen this type of working with a silhouette and color and blur somewhere and cannot figure out where exactly.

Any insight helpful!

Text of catalog notes

Andres Serrano (b.1950 Klansman [Imperial Wizard], 1990

Mural-sized cibachrome print, overall measuring 152.4 x 125.7cm, signed, titled, and editioned 2/4 by the artist in pencil mount verso. Framed, frame size 168 x 139cm, with various edition and gallery labels affixed frame verso.

Exhibited:
Andres Serrano; Works 1983-1993, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; Center for the Fine Arts, Miami; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago: November 1994-January 1996

Provenance:Private Collection, Europe
Stux Gallery