Lot Details
Description
RICHARD AVEDON
1923-2004
MARILYN MONROE
a plate from the Minneapolis Portfolio (Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1970, an edition of 35), signed and editioned '8/35' in pencil in the margin, signed in ink and stamped on the reverse, 1957, printed in 1970
22⅝ by 20⅛ in. (57.5 by 51.1 cm.)
Condition Report
This print, on double-weight, semi-glossy paper, is in generally very good condition. The print is trimmed to the image at the upper, left, and right edges. There are long, thin vertical deposits of retouching to the left and right of the subject that have lightened somewhat over time. There is a circular impression to the left of the subject's shoulders. There is scattered, faint soiling on the reverse.
The photographer's title stamp erroneously dates this image to 1962.
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.
Cataloguing
Provenance
Stephen Wirtz Gallery, Los Angeles, 1980
By descent to the present owner
Literature
Richard Avedon, An Autobiography (New York, 1993), pl. 134
Richard Avedon: Evidence, 1944-1994 (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1994), p. 138
Richard Avedon, Portraits (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002), unpaginated
Richard Avedon, Woman in the Mirror (New York, 2005), pp. 88-9
Michael Juul Holm, ed., Richard Avedon - Photographs 1946 - 2004 (Humlebæk: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2007), p. 60
Richard Avedon, Performance (New York, 2008), p. 103
Catalogue Note
'For hours she danced and sang and flirted and did this thing that’s — she did Marilyn Monroe. And then there was the inevitable drop. And when the night was over and the white wine was over and the dancing was over, she sat in the corner like a child, with everything gone. I saw her sitting quietly without expression on her face, and I walked towards her but I wouldn’t photograph her without her knowledge of it. And as I came with the camera, I saw that she was not saying no' (Richard Avedon Portraits, 2002, unpaginated).