S otheby’s is privileged to present a selection of nearly 60 photographs from the collection of Dr. Joseph D. Lichtenberg (1925-2021) across our fall sales of Classic Photographs and Contemporary Photographs, with additional works offered through spring 2022. These 19th, 20th, and 21st century photographs encapsulate the essence of their collector, whose passion and spirit of inquiry were rooted in his defining work as an esteemed psychoanalyst. Dr. Lichtenberg and Charlotte, his wife of 63 years, began their collecting journey in the 1960s and 1970s with sculptures by Jean Arp, Henry Moore, and Sir Anthony Caro, before turning to photography around 1980. Prescient early acquisitions include Constantin Brancusi’s La Sorcière and William Eggleston’s iconic Memphis (Tricycle). The Lichtenberg Collection was loaned generously, including to The Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C., where a number of photographs were also donated. With a passion for form across media, Dr. Lichtenberg described his collection as follows: ‘It is not about history, it is not about who, it is about aesthetic.’
Mid-century photographers Roy DeCarava and Gordon Parks documented their black communities in order to counter, in DeCarava’s words, images of ‘black people. . . not being portrayed in a serious and artistic way.’ From New York City’s Harlem and West Village neighborhoods to Chicago and beyond, their poetic, poignant images capture anonymous figures and legends alike.
From the Atlantic to the Pacific and everywhere in between, American landscape photographers have captured the glory of its spacious skies, fruited plains, and purple mountain majesties.
Jay I. Kislak’s philanthropic endeavors were as diverse as his collecting interests—and the wide range of his collecting will be revealed in the many varied auctions this fall at Sotheby’s that will include property from the Collection of Jay I. Kislak. The Kislak Family Foundation’s mission is to support leadership and innovation in the fields of education, the arts and humanities, animal welfare, and environmental preservation. This series of Sotheby’s sales this fall will assist the foundation in continuing to fulfill Jay Kislak’s vision and carry on his good works. Browse highlights from his collection of photographs above.
Explore a selection of ethereal and subtly erotic masterworks by Japanese photographers Daido Moriyama, Shomei Tomatsu, and Masahisa Fukase.
Sotheby’s is pleased to offer 22 photographs originally in the collection of Shirley Carter Burden (1908-1989), photographer, publisher, collector, and arts patron. Burden developed early relationships with Robert Frank, Minor White, and Edward Steichen, and passionately championed the work of Lewis Hine and Dorothea Lange. Among the many institutions Burden supported were the Morgan Library; Aperture, where he was chairman of the board of trustees; The Museum of Modern Art, where he was chairman of the Photography Committee; and the New York Public Library, where the Shirley C. Burden papers are now housed.
