Eugène Atget

matte albumen print, partially numbered in the negative, titled and numbered '789' in pencil and with the photographer's 'Rue Campagne-Première, 17 bis' studio stamp, annotated '17 bis' in pencil, on the reverse, circa 1910

Private collection, Europe

Sotheby's New York, Photographs by Eugène Atget, 24 May 1982, Sale 4871M, Lot 63, Doris Bry, New York, as agent

Clark Worswick, Berenice Abbott and Eugène Atget (Santa Fe, 2002), pl. 79

Grading this matte albumen print on a scale of 1 to 10--a 10 being an albumen print with deep brown dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail--this print rates a strong 10. This lovely photograph has rich chocolate tones and creamy highlights. It is rendered in striking crystalline detail, with no discernible fading. The lower edge of the print was unevenly trimmed, and only a sliver of the negative number is visible. There is minute, barely perceptible edge wear. The reverse of the print is soiled. 'EA 7454 ZL' is written in an unidentified modern hand 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.

This photograph of clematis comes from a memorable sale in these rooms in 1982, when Sotheby’s offered a collection of no fewer than 72 photographs by Eugène Atget, the property of a European collector.   In her introduction to the catalogue, Anne Horton, the head of Sotheby’s Photographs Department at the time, wrote,

‘The public offering of this very fine collection of photographs by Eugène Atget is a special occasion.  Not only is it one of the few major collections of his work to remain in private hands, but it is also the first significant body of Atget’s work to appear at auction in America.  The present owner purchased the photographs as a group in France more than a decade ago, at a time when Atget’s work was widely admired, but rarely collected.’

Over three decades later, no other collection of Atget photographs of this quantity or quality has appeared at auction, in Europe or America.  Presented in its own catalogue, this landmark Atget collection established new price levels for the photographer at auction, with many images bringing multiples of their pre-sale estimates, and with a final sale total that surpassed the sale’s highest projection.   

The photograph offered here is a fine example of what Ansel Adams called Atget’s point of view, a point of view, Adams wrote in 1931, ‘which we are pleased to call “modern” and which is essentially timeless.  His work is a simple revelation of the simplest aspects of his environment.  There is no superimposed symbolic motive, no tortured application of design, no intellectual axe to grind.  The Atget prints are direct and emotionally clean records of a rare and subtle perception, and represent perhaps the earliest expression of true photographic art’ (quoted in Sotheby’s Photographs by Eugène Atget, May 1982).