artnet Auctions Presents Dark Beauty: Captivating Photographs of the Sinister, Tragic, and Enchanted
New York/Berlin (PRWEB) September 13, 2013 -- artnet Auctions is pleased to present a new photography sale, Dark Beauty: Captivating Photographs of the Sinister, Tragic, and Enchanted. Dark Beauty features a selection of unforgettable photographs by artists such as Pierre Molinier, Joel-Peter Witkin, Robert Parke-Harrison, E.J. Bellocq, Nan Goldin, Francesca Woodman, Helmut Newton, Andres Serrano, Jan Saudek, Sally Mann, Robert Mapplethorpe, and David LaChapelle. The sale is comprised of over 40 lots, with estimates ranging from US$4,000 to 40,000.
One example of the beauty represented in this sale is Sally Mann’s Crossed Braids (1992), estimated at US$15,000–20,000. In this gelatin silver print, Mann displays a keen awareness of human mortality and its interconnectedness with the natural world. As in much of her work, the imagery suggests the cyclical nature of birth, death, and the beyond. Another important artist featured in the sale is Robert Mapplethorpe (American, 1946–1989). Mapplethorpe’s iconic black-and-white photograph, Tulips (1979), estimated at US$17,000–22,000, uses flowers—a recurring theme in the artist’s work—to explore the fragility of life. Representing the sale’s darker side is Andres Serrano’s Ecce Homo, also known as Piss Christ, a sensational work that has attracted controversy for more than two decades, and has an estimate of US$25,000–30,000.
Belloqc’s Untitled (Storyville Prostitute), 1912, is a haunting photograph of a female sex worker in New Orleans in the 1910s wearing just her stockings with her face blacked out. This portrait of a Storyville prostitute is one of a series from photographer E.J. Bellocq (American, 1873–1949), photographed in hotel rooms in New Orleans in 1912. For many years, these images had been kept private, but in the late 1960s, photographer Lee Friedlander (American, b.1934) purchased the negatives and brought these haunting portraits to light. Many of the faces on these erotic photographs were deliberately scraped out, although it is not known whether or not that was done by Bellocq himself.
Dark Beauty: Captivating Photographs of the Sinister, Tragic, and Enchanted is live on artnet Auctions from September 12 through 24, 2013 at http://www.artnet.com/auctions/search/?q=keyword-dark_2013/.
• Register to bid on artnet Auctions: https://www.artnet.com/auctions/register-to-bid/
• View all lots: http://www.artnet.com/auctions/all-artworks/
For more information about the sale, please contact artnet Auctions specialists:
Bree Hughes
Associate Specialist, Photographs
+1-212-497-9700 ext. 121
Bhughes(at)artnet(dot)com
Media Contacts:
To receive further information and images, or to arrange interviews, members of the media may contact:
Elizabeth Reina-Longoria or Deirdre Maher
+1-212-675-1800
Elizabeth(at)bluemedium(dot)com or Deirdre(at)bluemedium(dot)com
About artnet:
artnet is the leading resource for the international art market and the principal platform for art auctions on the Internet. With products such as artnet Auctions, the artnet Price Database, artnet Galleries, and artnet Analytics Reports, artnet is the only company to offer a comprehensive combination of art market resources.
Founded in 1989 and online since 1995, artnet was the first online source for art research and pricing. Host to two million visitors each month, artnet provides reliable information and market transparency to art collectors, galleries, auction houses, museums, and investors.
About artnet Auctions:
With 24/7 worldwide bidding, artnet Auctions is the world’s first online auction platform to buy and sell Modern and Contemporary paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and more. artnet has been online since 1995, and is host to approximately 2 million visitors each month. Through the artnet Price Database and artnet Galleries, artnet is the leading online resource for the international art market.
http://www.artnet.com | http://www.artnet.de | http://www.artnet.fr
Artnet Worldwide Corporation, 233 Broadway, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10279-2600, USA
Bree Hughes, artnet Auctions, http://www.artnet.com/auctions, 1-212-497-9700 121, [email protected]
Share this article