15
WALKER EVANS, (American, 1903-1975), MAIN STREET, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK, signed and dated "W...
Currency:USD
Category:Everything Else / Other
Start Price:NA
Estimated At:40,000.00 - 60,000.00 USD
NOT SOLD (BIDDING OVER)
0.00USD+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2003 Apr 25 @ 19:00UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT
WALKER EVANS
(American, 1903-1975)
MAIN STREET, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK
signed and dated "Walker Evans, 1933" on recto of mount in pencil
stamped "WALKER EVANS" in black ink on verso of mount
inscribed "Broadway/Saratoga 1933" in pencil on verso of mount
gelatin silver print
71/8 x 5 in. (18.1 x 12.7 cm)
mount: 137/8 x 115/8 in. (35.2 x 29.5 cm)
1931
ESTIMATE: $40,000-60,000
PROVENANCE
Robert Schoelkopf, NEW YORK
EXHIBITED
HULL, ENGLAND, Ferens Art Gallery, PHOTOGRAPHER AS PRINTMAKER, August 1 - August 30, 1981
WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK, Catskill Center for Photography, CORPORATE COLLECTIONS, April 26-May 27, 1986
MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, Montclair Art Museum, CITY SCENES, September 27, 1997 - January 4, 1998
LITERATURE
Walker Evans, AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS, NEW YORK, Museum of Modern Art, 1938, part I, pl. 27 (variant illustrated)
Walker Evans, AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS, NEW YORK, East River Press, 1975, p. 59 (variant illustrated)
Lloyd Fonvielle, WALKER EVANS, Millerton, New York, Aperture, 1979, p. 2 (variant illustrated)
Walker Evans, WALKER EVANS AT WORK, NEW YORK, Harper & Row, 1982, p. 58 (variant illustrated)
WALKER EVANS 1903/1974, Valencia, Conselleria de Cultura, Educaci= i Ciencia de la Generalitat Valenciana, 1983, p. 109 (illustrated)
Duncan Stalker, CORPORATE CULTURE, THE PHOTOGRAPH IN A GRAY FLANNEL SUIT, NEW YORK, 1986, p. 160 (illustrated)
Michael Brix and Birgit Mayer, eds., WALKER EVANS: AMERIKA, Munich,
Schirmer/Mosel, 1990, pl. 13 (variant illustrated)
Gilles Mora and John Hill, WALKER EVANS: LA SOIF DU REGARD, Paris,
+ditions du Seuil, 1993, p. 63 (variant illustrated, also p. 162, fig. 97)
Gilles Mora and John Hill, WALKER EVANS: THE HUNGRY EYE, NEW YORK, Harry N. Abrams, 1993, p. 63 (variant illustrated, also p. 162, fig. 97)
Ellen Fleurov, WALKER EVANS: SIMPLE SECRETS, Atlanta, High Museum of Art, 1998, p. 47, cat. no. 25 (variant illustrated)
Maria Morris Hambourg, et al., WALKER EVANS, NEW YORK, Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000, pl. 37 (variant illustrated with variant cropping)
Peter Galassi, WALKER EVANS & COMPANY, NEW YORK, Museum of Modern Art, 2000, p. 93, cat. no. 87 (variant illustrated)
Luc Sante, WALKER EVANS 55, London, Phaidon, 2001, p. 37 (variant
illustrated)
In the fall of 1931, Walker Evans was traveling with Lincoln Kirstein to photograph Victorian architecture when they stopped in the resort town of Saratoga Springs. "They took a room on a high floor of the United States Hotel, with a corner view of the equally imposing Grand Union. The next morning Evans was dismayed to wake up to a rainy day. The sidewalk along Main Street was slick with rain, and the leafless elms receded into the mist. Wet black cars were parked in a solid row diagonally along the curb. It was hardly the view they had come all the way to Saratoga to capture, but there it was. At Kirstein's suggestion, Evans later admitted, he set up his camera in the hotel room, composed his photograph through the window, and squeezed the shutter" (Belinda Rathbone, WALKER EVANS: A BIOGRAPHY, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995, p. 69).
Describing this picture, Luc Sante has written that, "The great hotels of the nineteenth century are perhaps attending their own funeral, marked by the two endless rows of black cars.... It is certainly a picture taken by a young man feeling melancholy on a rainy day in a provincial town entombed in its own respectability" (Luc Sante, WALKER EVANS 55, London, Phaidon, 2001, p. 36).
This photograph is a variant of the MAIN STREET, SARATOGA SPRINGS (See fig.) reproduced in AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS. The car at the left is no longer centered between the branches of the elm tree and an ominous shape has appeared further up the road. As such, it is very rare, and possibly unique. It was printed from a 61/2 x 81/2 glass plate negative.
This fine vintage print is on a warm-tone paper with a slightly pebbled texture. The overall character is softer than the harsher contrasts of the standard version. The latter conveys an impression of slick wet pavement, while the present work offers a more atmospheric haze.
Auction Location:
United States
Previewing Details:
Wednesday April 16 - Wednesday April 23
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
No Info Available
Payment Details:
No Info Available
Conditions of sale applicable to buyers
1 BUYERS PREMIUM WILL BE CHARGED AT 15% ON THE FIRST CHF 70,000 OF THE HAMMER PRICE OF EACH LOT, AND AT 10% THEREAFTER. FOR LOTS MARKED WITH THE SYMBOL () IN THE CATALOGUE, THE BUYER HAS TO PAY SWISS VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT) AT 7.6% ONLY ON THE BUYERS PREMIUM, NOT ON THE HAMMER PRICE. FOR LOTS WITHOUT THE SYMBOL (), VAT OF 7.6% IS APPLICABLE ON THE HAMMER PRICE AND THE BUYERS PREMIUM. This VAT is refundable to non-Swiss resident buyers who, within 30 days following the sale, present to PHILLIPS, de PURY & LUXEMBOURG LIMITED (hereinafter PHILLIPS) the export declaration, duly stamped by Swiss customs, proving that the goods have left Switzerland. Non-stamped declarations are invalid.
2 Every lot is sold with all faults and errors of description and PHILLIPS disclaim, for themselves and for the vendors, all responsibility, in particular for authenticity, age, origin, condition or quality. Any statement, whether contained in the catalogue or expressed orally, is considered a statement of opinion only and not a statement of fact. PHILLIPS GIVES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES. Purchasers are deemed to have satisfied themselves on authenticity, condition, etc., before bidding.
3 The Auctioneer has absolute discretion to divide any lot, to combine two or more lots, to withdraw any lots, to refuse bids, and to regulate the bidding. He may bid on the vendor’s behalf for all goods which are being offered subject to a reserve or at the Auctioneer’s discretion.
4 The highest bidder shall be the buyer. In case of disagreement the lot or lots will immediately be reoffered by the Auctioneer. No claim will be accepted once the adjudication has been given.
5 When the reserve price has not been reached, the lot will be passed at the fall of the hammer.
6 Bids from clients unknown to PHILLIPS, the Auctioneer, or the Stadtammann of Zurich might not be accepted unless accompanied by a full cash deposit, or a bank reference, which must arrive in good time to be taken up before the sale at PHILLIPS, Kreuzstrasse 54, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland. The Auctioneer retains full authority to refuse these bids.
7 PHILLIPS requires that all prospective buyers use a bidding number in place of their names.
8 Persons not present at the sale may leave their bids with the Auctioneer or the Stadtammann of Zurich. The prices on these bidding forms will be treated as maximum hammer price, excluding premium or taxes. Alterations to these forms can only be accepted in writing up to the evening preceding the sale.
9 Payment can be made in cash, by bank cheque or by wire transfer. Cash payments must be made in Swiss Francs. PHILLIPS reserves the right to refuse immediate clearance of goods when paid for by wiretransfer or by cheque, whether drawn on a Swiss or foreign bank.
10 Payment of the purchase price is due within seven days after sale. Interest of 1.5% (expenses included) per month on the purchase price will be charged if payment is not received within these seven days. PHILLIPS reserves the right to resell unpaid items after the period of seven days by auction or privately without notice to the buyer. In this event PHILLIPS may claim from the defaulter damages including all loss arising from any resale of the lot together with the charges and expenses in respect of both sales. Any money deposited in part payment shall be held by PHILLIPS against the defaulter’s liability.
11 No purchase shall be claimed or removed until PHILLIPS has received full payment of the purchase price. All lots shall be removed at the buyer’s risk and expense. Purchases will be held for collection at no charge for 28 days. All purchases not collected within such period are subject to a minimum warehousing charge of CHF 10 per lot per day. If purchases are not removed within 60 days of the sale, PHILLIPS may deposit the lot at the buyer’s risk and expense. PHILLIPS shall not be responsible if the lots in storage are lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed. Any liability which there may be on the part of PHILLIPS in respect of any loss shall be restricted to a maximum of the price paid by the purchaser of the lot. Clearance of purchases, other than by the purchaser, must be carried out by a person specified on the written direction of the buyer. ON REQUEST, PHILLIPS WILL QUOTE FOR DOOR-TO-DOOR TRANSPORT OF PURCHASED ITEMS. ALL COSTS INCURRED BY SHIPPING, CUSTOMS AND INSURANCE WILL BE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE BUYER.
12 Every person attending the public exhibition or the sales shall be deemed to be there at his own risk. He shall have no claim against PHILLIPS in respect of any injury he may sustain or any accident which may occur.
13 Any person causing damage to an item will be held legally responsible.
14 Notice of all forthcoming Auction Sales will appear in “La Feuille d’Avis Officielle”/ “Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt” and all interested parties are welcome to consult the Conditions of Sale at this time.
15 Any dispute concerning the auction/sale shall be governed by Swiss law and settled by the ORDINARY COURTS IN ZURICH.
16 The auction takes place under the supervision of the Stadtammannamt Zurich. The Canton and City of Zurich and particularly the Stadtammannamt Zurich bear no liability for the decisions taken by the auctioneer.