PBA Galleries – Fine Photography
Thursday, February 22, 2024 Beginning 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time
605 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94710
www.pbagalleries.com

BERKELEY, CALIF. — PBA Galleries will present an auction of photography, a dedicated event that marks the first in a series by PBA Galleries. This sale will include a diverse selection of more than 340 lots, featuring photobooks and original photographs. Bidders and photography enthusiasts are invited to explore classic and contemporary works that have shaped the world of photography. The auction will take place on February 22, and absentee bidding is available through the PBA Galleries website.

The auction is organized into chronological and thematic sections, showcasing the evolution of photography over time. The categories include Nineteenth Century pictorialism and Western photography, Modernism, f64 and straight photography, documentary and photojournalism, postmodernism, post-documentary, new documents and new topographics, fashion and portraiture and photobooks

The featured collections encompass an array of works by renowned photographers, including photogravures by Edward S. Curtis from his iconic North American Indian series, mammoth plate albumen prints by Carleton Watkins and pictorialist works from Alfred Stieglitz and members of the Photo-Secession.

The cover lot of the sale, “Lifesavers” by Ruth Bernhard depicts a pack of the candy Lifesavers that was a literal life saver for the artist. One of her first photographs, it helped launch her career as an independent artist ($2/3,000).

A highlight of the sale, “On the Road to Yosemite Falls, 2674 ft.” by Carleton Watkins is a mammoth plate albumen print, titled in Watkins’ hand on the mount with the artist’s stamp on verso. Taken in the late 1870s, it shows the unspoiled beauty of one the great American treasures ($15/25,000).

Other featured lots include: Andy Warhol is the subject of Burt Glinn’s photograph, “Andy Warhol with Edie Sedgewick and Chuck Wein, New York,” 1965, as he is seen emerging from a manhole to introduce Edie Sedgwick who would become the “It Girl” of the sixties ($4/6,000); an image from 1932 by Ansel Adams, “Hands of Annette Rosenshine,” in which he captured the hands of the sculptor holding a beaded necklace. ($4/6,000); Roger Minick’s “Delta Portfolio” consisting of 12 gelatin silver prints from a project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta ($3/5,000); and “Cottonwood, edge of development, Longmont, Colorado,” by Robert Adams, an important contributor to the “New Topographics” exhibit of 1975 ($7/10,000).

PBA is open by appointment only. Live auction participation is available via online or phone bidding. For information, 415-989-2665 or www.pbagalleries.com.

Over 340 lots including photobooks and original photographs comprising a dedicated photography auction—the first in a series for PBA Galleries. The sale is divided into chronological and thematic sections: 19th Century Pictorialism & Western Photography; Modernism, f’64 & Straight Photography; Documentary & Photojournalism; Postmodernism, Post-Documentary, New Documents & New Topographies; Fashion and Portraiture; Photobooks.
That Obscure Object of Desire ‘Lifesavers’ signed by Ruth Bernhard. One of Ruth Bernhard’s first photographs.
Old West, Mammoth Plate ‘On the Road to Yosemite Falls, 2674ft.’ by Carleton Watkins. Mammoth plate albumen print
Andy and Edie ‘Andy Warhol with Edie Sedgewick and Chuck Wein, New York, 1966’
New West, New Topographies ‘Cottonwood, edge of development, Longmont, Colorado’
A Portrait of the Artist ‘Hands of Annette Rjosenshine’ signed by Ansel Adams.
Specialists in Exceptional Books & Private Libraries at Auction
605 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94710 415-989-2665 : pba@pbagalleries.com
www.pbagalleries.com