Irving Penn

platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted to aluminum, signed, annotated, and stamped on the reverse, framed, 1947, printed in 1980, no. 65 in an edition of 65 in platinum

Moments Preserved, pp. 120-21; MoMA, pl. 73; Master Images, pl. 2; Passage, p. 39; A Career in Photography, fig. 21, p. 181; Still Life, unpaginated; Platinum Prints, pl. 6

This beautifully-rendered print is in generally excellent condition.
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.
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The full catalogue information for this print is as follows:

platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted to aluminum, signed, titled, dated, numbered '65/65,' and with technical, edition, and copyright information by the photographer in pencil and his Condé Nast copyright and edition stamps on the reverse, matted, framed, 1947, printed in April 1980, no. 65 in an edition of 65 in platinum metals

Irving Penn wrote the following about 'New York Still Life (Elements of a Party),' an editorial photograph he made for Vogue,

'New York Still Life with Food:  A culinary melting pot, New York has prosciutto and Provolone from Italy via Little Italy, wine and liqueurs from France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Chile, and Japan.  In fact, food from almost any nation can be bought somewhere in the city; is bought and eaten by people who have never seen or seriously contemplated the country of origin.  Other crossroads elements here:  the Limoges coffee cup, eighteenth-century English wineglass, a sack of cracked corn, Romano cheese, a Victorian compote, a blue and gold Chinese Lowestoft platter and a pot of Armorial Lowestoft, an Irish linen cloth, French bread baked in Manhattan, probably by Italian and Irish bakers' (Moments Preserved, p. 121).