László Moholy-Nagy

signed 'Photo L. Moholy=Nagy' and titled and numbered '(1)' by him in ink and pencil and numbered '2' (circled) in an unidentified hand in orange crayon and with the London address stamp of Ruth Schufftan, overlaid with Schufftan's London address label, and a typed title label on the reverse, matted, 1929 

Collection of Sybil Moholy-Nagy, the photographer's widow

Private Collection, acquired from the above

Sotheby's New York, 31 October and 1 November 1989, Sale 5921, Lot 444

Acquired by the present owner from the above

This early print by Moholy-Nagy is on a heavy single-weight paper with a very glossy surface. While it does exhibit a number of small condition issues, these are characteristic of a photograph of this age and are not obtrusive. This print is trimmed to the image, and there is very minor wear on the edges. There is very minor wear and some consequent chipping of the emulsion on the corners. There are two small stress cracks near the lower left corner, not breaking the emulsion and visible only in raking light. When the surface of the print is examined very closely in raking light, a few minor handling creases can be seen – none of these breaks the emulsion. The address label on the reverse reads: "Ruth Schufftan / 8, Highbourne House, / Hight Street, W. 1. / WELBECK 6139." This label covers another address stamp for Schufftan which is only partially visible.
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.

Marseille is one of a number of photographs made by Moholy-Nagy in 1929 from a bridge in that Mediterranean port city, likely the revolutionary transporter bridge completed there in 1905.  Andreas Haus reproduces several of Moholy's photographs from the Pont Transbordeur, or aerial transport bridge, which offered the photographer a whole repertoire of vantage points, from the bridge's dizzying steel columns to the suspended gondola as it crossed the water (Moholy-Nagy: Photographs & Photograms, pp. 66 - 68).  Moholy's 1929 film, Marseille Vieux Port, incorporates several shots of this famous transporter bridge, as well as footage made during a crossing.  Haus observes that the Marseille bridge, a feat of engineering in its day, attracted not only Moholy, but also photographers Herbert Bayer, Florence Henri, and Germaine Krull.  Moholy's delight in new structures and the opportunities they afforded his camera are evident in these Marseille pictures, as well as those he made from the Eiffel Tower and the new radio tower in Berlin, among others. 

As in his 1928 bird's-eye views from the Berlin radio tower, Moholy's Marseille photographs reduce a wealth of visual information to complex patterns, in which spatial relationships and the interplay of light and dark form new abstractions.  With its intersecting diagonals and precisely positioned shapes, the photograph offered here resembles nothing so much as one of Moholy's own Constructivist paintings. 

The present photograph was one of a significant group of Moholy photographs and photograms sold in these rooms in 1988 and 1989, and came originally from the collection of Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, the photographer's widow.  The photogram that comprises Lot 22 of this catalogue was also a part of this same group.   

Marseille is stamped and labeled on the reverse with the London address of Ruth Schufftan, a picture agent who operated in London in the 1930s and handled works by Brassaï, Francois Kollar, Cecil Beaton, Maywald, and many others.