Lot 118
  • 118

Dave Heath

Estimate
6,000 - 9,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Dave Heath
  • New York City (Veteran)
  • gelatin silver print
signed in ink in the margin, annotated and dated 'from master printing for ADWS Sept/Dec 1962 (edited out from ADWS) Photograph: NYC Ca 1957/60' in pencil on the reverse, 1957-60, printed in 1962

Provenance

The photographer

The Collected Image, Evanston, Illinois, as agent, to the present owner, 1997

Condition

This early print, on lightweight paper with a semi-glossy surface, is in generally excellent condition. A few small crescent-shaped handling creases are only visible under very close inspection in raking light. On the reverse, there are 2 rice-paper hinge remnants at the upper left and right corners. 'C' and '89' are written in an unidentified hand in pencil. There are a few very faint smudges on the reverse.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This photograph is one of a group of images from which Heath selected the contents of his classic 1965 volume, A Dialogue with Solitude.  Regarding this 'profoundly bittersweet' body of work, Keith Davis has written, 'The faces of Heath's subjects provide a wordless narrative of loneliness and melancholy punctuated by fleeting moments of tenderness, reverie, and joy. . . understanding is gained through feeling rather than reading, empathy rather than analysis' (An American Century of Photography, second ed., p. 279).

Prints of any of Heath's photographs are scarce.  A Dialogue with Solitude, long out of print, was re-issued in 2000 by Lumiere Press.