Lot 747
ROBERT FRANK (B. 1924)
Mary and Pablo, N.Y.C., 1951 and 1954
Closed8 October 2009
Price Realised
USD 52,500
More Information
Specialist note
The upper part of the image of Frank's wife Mary and their first
child Pablo from 1951 fit the style and mood of post-war humanistic
photography. His direct and simple treatment of this eternal theme,
using a small-format camera and available light, made it at once
contemporary and timeless. It was first published as a prize-winning
photograph in Life magazine in 1951 and has been included in
every major exhibition and publication of Frank's work from that time
until the present, including his retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1962 when he virtually abandoned still photography. After a decade of devoting his creative energies to filmmaking, Frank was invited in 1971 by Japanese publisher Kazuhiko Motomura to reflect on his life's work and compile a retrospective book that became The Lines of My Hand. The present lot, a combination print including three frames of a portrait of Mary and Pablo from 1954, was published in that book in 1972. This rare print was made about that time.
child Pablo from 1951 fit the style and mood of post-war humanistic
photography. His direct and simple treatment of this eternal theme,
using a small-format camera and available light, made it at once
contemporary and timeless. It was first published as a prize-winning
photograph in Life magazine in 1951 and has been included in
every major exhibition and publication of Frank's work from that time
until the present, including his retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1962 when he virtually abandoned still photography. After a decade of devoting his creative energies to filmmaking, Frank was invited in 1971 by Japanese publisher Kazuhiko Motomura to reflect on his life's work and compile a retrospective book that became The Lines of My Hand. The present lot, a combination print including three frames of a portrait of Mary and Pablo from 1954, was published in that book in 1972. This rare print was made about that time.