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• Issue #262
• Article

Diane ARBUS (1923-1971), Albino sword swallower at a carnival, c. 1970, silver print on baryta paper by Neil Selkirk, estimated 6 000 /8000€.

After the success of the "Succession François Lepage" auction last year, the Millon auction house is offering another week of surprises in 19th, 20th century and contemporary photography. On the occasion of Paris Photo week this November, Millon Auction house and expert Christophe Goeury will auction off three remarkable photography collections.

The first auction, which is entitled, "The Puzzle of a Self-Portrait: Pierre Bonhomme's Photography Collection", will be held on Friday, November 10th, at Hôtel Drouot at 2 pm.

Director of the Mission du Patrimoine Photographique at the French Ministry of Culture (1988-2003), writer and curator, Pierre Bonhomme (alias Pierre Borhan) assembled a collection of some of the greatest names in modern and contemporary photography.

Over 50 different photographers in 200 lots will be offered, including Diane Arbus, Eugène Atget, John Batho, Hans Bellmer, Pierre Boucher, Marcel Bovis, Bill Brandt, Brassai, Harry Callahan, William Carter, Gregory Colbert, Denise Colomb, Tom Drahos, Harold Eugene Edgerton, Bernard Faucon, Emeric Feher, Charles Freger, Claude Gassian, Mario Giacomelli, Ralph Gibson, Hervé Guibert, Philippe Halsman, Lucien Herve, Eiko Hosoe, Dominique Issermann, René-Jaques, Michael Kenna, André Kertész, William Klein, François Kollar, Sally Mann, Richard Misrach, Daido Moriyama, Nicholas Nixon, Roger Parry, Irving Penn, Carla van de Puttelaar, Humberto Rivas, Jan Saudek, Josef Sudek, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Keiichi Tahara, Arthur Tress, Deborah Turbeville, Edward Weston and Joel-Peter Witkin, among others.

The second Millon auction will focus on Félix Nadar: New Releases on the secondary market, and will be held Tuesday, November 14th in the Salons du Trocadéro at 3 pm.

NADAR (Gaspard Félix Tournachon, dit) (1820-1910), Catacombs of Paris, 1862, Albumen print, estimated 3500/4500€.

This is an exceptional set of over 100 prints by Félix Nadar, some of them previously unpublished, from the family collection of Eugène Vézy, director of the Société Générale de Photographie Félix Tournachon, "Nadar & Cie".

Included in the Nadar sale will be:
--Ninety prints of the catacombs and sewers of Paris.
--Five unpublished nudes. It should be noted that only three nude images photographed by Félix Nadar are currently known and referenced in institutions. Two of the nudes here are variants of the prints used by J.L. Gérôme and made by Félix Nadar.
--Various portraits including a maternity portrait from 1856.
--A portrait of Félix Nadar by his brother Adrien Tournachon, and others. The whole group is considered to be in exceptional condition.

The third and last auction is entitled, "Mon ami Brassaï: signé Picasso", which will also be held Tuesday, November 14th at the Salons du Trocadéro at 5pm.

The original prints presented in this auction "Mon ami Brassaï: signé Picasso" are to be considered as an exceptional proposition to collectors.

BRASSAÏ (Gyula Halasz, known as) 1899-1984, La Main de Picasso, 1943, vintage silver print, estimated 15,000 /20,000€.

In October 2006, the Millon auction house sold over 750 lots at Drouot Montaigne, as part of the "Succession Brassaï", a resounding auction success. However, on Tuesday, November 14th, there is no question of giving a "sequel" to this auction, beyond the fact of its provenance: "succession Brassaï", "succession Gilberte Brassaï". Brassaï's heirs have decided to offer a special, exclusive and arbitrary selection of unique photographs. A choice of 12 prints echo the drawings and autographs signed by Picasso and given to Brassaï.

Only the excellence of the selected prints was considered, including a "unique copy" print - Nu n°97, 1934, the last known copy of this print in any format; a "unique exhibition" print--Kazbek, in Picasso's studio, rue des Grands-Augustins, 1944; and Moulage de la Main de Picasso, 1943, the only large-format print of this image on record.

The online auction catalogues can eventually be found at: https://www.millon.com. Printed catalogues can be requested from the auction house.

Contacts for the auction:

Expert, Christophe Goeury
chgoeury@gmail.com.

Head of Department, Federica Barolo
photographie@millon.com.
+33 (0) 1 87 03 04 70.