Last Updated on 10/18/2024 by Nilofer Khan
Photographs are not only worth a thousand words but also a million dollars. Images that have impacted us, offered us the truth, and continued to promote photography as an art form are valuable even today. The Leitz Photographica Auction, hosted by Leica, is an event where photography is celebrated by medium lovers, art connoisseurs, and collectors. This year, the company will host an exhibition and auction with over 100 important photographs, and they will go under the hammer on October 18 at the Leica Gallery in Vienna. Below, we discuss the Leica auction, its theme, and the renowned photographers participating in the celebration.
The lead image is by Nan Goldin, courtesy of Leica’s Leitz Photographica Auction. All images are used with permission.
Leica is one of the few companies that has supported photography and photographers in innumerable ways. The Leitz Photographica Auction is no different. Established in 2013, the auction honors and celebrates images of varied genres and styles, beginning from the 1920s. In more recent years, the Leica auction has also begun organizing these images under a title. This edition, which will be the 21st, is titled Gestures. The historical images, thus, represent the title in both the literal and metaphorical sense of the term.
This year, 107 images are being auctioned, and some extremely notable names are included, such as Robert Frank, Nan Goldin, William Eggleston, Alfred Eisenstaedt, and William Klein. Of them, Robert Frank’s image titled From the Bus, New York 1958, hopes to fetch 18,000 euros ($19,550), followed by Nan Goldin, whose image titled Jimmy Paulette on David’s bike, NYC 1991, already has a bid of 12,000 euros ($13,033), with estimated price being 18,000 euros. Similarly, William Eggleston’s Imperial Park, Bad Ischl, Austria, 1983, is supposed to sell for 14,000 euros ($15,205).
So, what makes these images so exceptional? We thought it would be best for us to break them down for you. Let’s start with Nan Goldin first, she is one of my most favourite photographers. The image featured in the Leica auction is from her photobook called The Other Side, which was originally published in 1993. The book is about transgender people and drag queens, many of whom were Goldin’s friends and who gradually passed away over the years due to AIDS. Seeing the photograph in this context, one can’t help but be in awe of the individuals who were changing norms even before it was a thing.
There is a lot to love about this photograph. Foremost is Jimmy’s confident gaze, which doesn’t look at Goldin but rather looks through her. Despite being at the bike’s rear, he is comfortable and almost at ease with who he is. But beyond that, what you’d read through the lies is Jimmy’s perseverance of a hopeful tomorrow, where gender, sexuality, and indemnity are no longer forced into boxes. Photographically speaking, the blur of the slow shutter and the hazy faces of those walking around help to make Jimmy the protagonist of the story. The hues of white, gold, and red make him stand out, urging viewers to confront his gaze. Many would be unforgettable, but many would welcome to see him as his authentic self. And that’s what makes Goldin’s portrait so intimate and timeless.
Then there is Robert Frank, the man who changed photography with his book The Americans. Frank truly depicted the nation entirely, and perhaps, being an outsider allowed him to see the fractures that many have turned their faces against. At the Leica auction, the images that we see are scans of varied places photographed from a bus. What is interesting to see is that despite the changing landscapes, the rush, desperation, joy, anger, and confusion are a sea of emotions that do not change. In one frame, we see a gentleman with slumped shoulders, and in another, we see a man clearly upset for having to wait for the bus pass.
Photographically speaking, the ability to look from ‘inside to outside’ is quite unique. It allowed Frank to blend in with the commuters, his presence never truly known, which makes his picture the truest documentation of moments that we will never witness again. Furthermore, the scans, placed next to each other, are like a jigsaw puzzle of our everyday reality. Scattered, they don’t say much, but they comment on our complex urban reality and individuality when put together.
As with the auction, the photographs may fetch far more than the estimated price. For instance, in the past, Johannes Fischer’s image, Egon Schiele in front of large studio mirror, sold for 33,600 euros when its estimate was 6,000 euros. Similarly, Rudolf Koppitz’s photograph, Bewegungsstudie/Movement Study, had an estimated price of 60,000 euros, but it fetched far more, going under the hammer at 90,000 euros. However, these are a few exceptions.
It remains to be seen how much each photograph will finally fetch at the Leica auction. We remain hopeful that they will be able to gather far more than the estimate. For more information, visit the Leitz Photographica Auction‘s website.