146

IRVING PENN (American, b. 1917) HELL'S ANGEL, DOUG (SAN FRANCISCO) signed, titled, dated, and proces

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
IRVING PENN (American, b. 1917) HELL'S ANGEL, DOUG (SAN FRANCISCO) signed, titled, dated, and proces
IRVING PENN (American, b. 1917) HELL'S ANGEL, DOUG (SAN FRANCISCO) signed, titled, dated, and process description with edition information inscribed in pencil on verso credit and copyright stamps on verso platinum/palladium print 193/4 x 201/4 in. (50.2 x 51.4 cm) photographed in 1967 printed by Penn in July 1976 this print is number 25 from an edition of 40 ESTIMATE: $8,000-10,000 PROVENANCE Christie's NEW YORK, Sale Number 9150, April 29, 1999, Lot 327 LITERATURE Irving Penn, WORLDS IN A SMALL ROOM, NEW YORK, 1974, p. 52 (illustrated) Irving Penn, PASSAGE: A WORK RECORD, NEW YORK, 1991, pl. 168 (illustrated) Influenced by a background in fashion photography, Irving Penn's portraits display a control and respect for his subjects rarely attained by other portrait photographers. This work is reminiscent of Penn's "Small Trades" series, portraits of workers who were brought into his studio to pose in their uniforms, holding the implements of their trade. Here we see Doug with his main life implement, his motorcycle, dressed to ride. Typical of Penn's portraits, the stark environment and fixed lighting show his obsessive control of all elements of his studio. Doug is posed against a plain background and is lit from one angle. We feel a cool distance from the sitter typical of Penn's approach.