Irving Penn

platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted to aluminum, signed, annotated, and stamped on the reverse, 1972, printed in 1975, no. 9 in an edition of 12 in platinum

Acquired by the present owner from Marlborough Gallery, New York, circa 1977

Eye of the Beholder: Photographs from the Collection of Richard Avedon, unpaginated

The photograph is in generally excellent condition. The edges are slightly rubbed. There is an extremely faint area of discoloration in the upper right margin corner that encroaches very slightly into the image. The reverse is in generally excellent condition. Remnants from an old adhesive are along the edges, and there is very minor rubbing or soiling visible. The print is annotated 'Rives Paper on Platinum/ Multiple Coating and Printing/ 1. Platinum/ 2. Platinum-Palladium/ Print made April 1975' and 'No more than 12 original prints of this image will ever be made. IP' by the photographer, and 'C335' (circled) and 'Neg. No. 53' in unidentified hands in pencil, on the reverse. Our assessment of the print date is based on the photographer's annotation 'Print made April 1975' in pencil 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.

The full catalogue information for this lot is as follows:

platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted to aluminum, signed, dated, and numbered '9/12' and with technical, edition, and copyright information by the photographer in pencil and with his copyright and edition stamps on the reverse, matted, 1972, printed in 1975, no. 9 in an edition of 12 in platinum metals

Irving Penn began his career at Vogue making still life images, and the genre within his oeuvre has remained a constant to this day.  Detritus within these works played an important role early on, in rendering these photographs more interesting and less sterile; for instance, the inclusion of the pills, a severed cigarette, and stray hairpin in Theater Accident (1947); cherry stems and partially-consumed bread in New York Still Life (see Lot 145); a soiled plate, dirty utensils, crumbs, and crumpled napkin in The Empty Plate (1947), among others.  Detritus as primary subject matter was launched by Penn in the early 1970s with his Cigarette series and reached its ultimate expression in the Street Material series in the mid-1970s.

The Cigarette pictures were conceived by Penn, after lengthy experimentation, to be printed in the platinum-palladium process only.  Seemingly unimportant as subject matter, these objects, in their shallow space, are richly rendered in their detail and tonal range and have become monumental objects reminiscent of classical architectural fragments.  In his introduction to Irving Penn: Photographs in Platinum Metals—Images 1947-1975, John Szarkowski addressed Penn's choices of images to be printed in platinum,

'In Penn's case, one might guess that he has only rarely enjoyed more than a cursory interest in the nominal subjects in his pictures. For him the true subject has been not haute couture or cuisine, but line, tone, shape, and patter, and the photographic intuition that will define their just relationship.'

In 1975, photographer Richard Avedon saw The Museum of Modern Art exhibition, Irving Penn: Photographs of Cigarettes, and shortly afterward purchased fifteen of the prints, each number one in the editions.  Included in his choices was the image offered here, Cigarette No. 53.