SF CAMERAWORK’S 2016 PHOTOGRAPHY AUCTION FEATURES WORKS BY HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON, BINH DANH, MATT LIPPS, DANNY LYON, MINOR WHITE, AND WILLIAM WEGMAN

For Immediate Release

SF Camerawork                                Contact: Heather Snider

1011 Market Street, 2nd Floor                        Tel: (415) 487-1011

San Francisco, CA 94103                        heather@sfcamerawork.org

37th Annual Fundraiser and Party Takes Place October 29, 2016, with 100 Live and Silent Lots from Established and Emerging Artists Across the Country

San Francisco, CA, August 9, 2016 -- SF Camerawork (SFC), San Francisco’s premier alternative venue for photography, will hold its annual fundraising auction on Saturday, October 29, 2016, benefitting the non-profit organization’s celebrated exhibitions, publications, and programs dedicated to emerging artists and experimental directions in the photographic arts.

This signature event—now in its 37th year and a favorite among serious photography collectors nationwide—will feature 100 exceptional, highly curated lots representing a range of work by both emerging and internationally distinguished artists, including Bernice Abbott, Wesaam Al-Badry, Roger Ballen, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Binh Dahn, Lewis Hine, Barbara Kasten, Matt Lipps, Danny Lyon, Klea McKenna, William Wegman, Minor White, and Suné Woods, to name a few.

“This year’s offerings represent a strong mix of classic 20th century and cutting-edge contemporary works that often riff on historical processes and themes,” says Heather Snider, Executive Director of SF Camerawork.

Led by auctioneer Rick Wester of Rick Wester Fine Art, New York, the evening will offer both live and silent auctions, as well as bountiful cocktails, wine, gourmet food, and—new to the event this year—a special “Curator Picks” cocktail reception and in-gallery talk led by SFMOMA photography curator emeritus and field expert Sandra S. Phillips, held at SF Camerawork on Thursday, October 27.

Featured artworks will be on display prior to the auction from Saturday, October 22 through Friday, October 29 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment at SF Camerawork. The auction preview exhibition is free and open to the public.

A fully illustrated catalogue of auction items will be available both online and in print by September 27. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Absentee bidding will be available. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; bidding begins at 7 p.m. Visit sfcamerawork.org/auction or call 415.487.1011 for more information, tickets, and pre-registration.

SF Camerawork’s 2016 Benefit Auction is made possible through the generous support of Campari America, Turnbull Wine, Delicious Catering, La Lavande Flowers, Photograph and Frame, Sterling Art Services, Smith Anderson North, and Ken Hoffman (as of 8.10.16).

AUCTION 2016 HIGHLIGHTS

Among many highlights of the live auction will be Binh Danh’s San Francisco Camerawork (2014),

a stunning daguerreotype print estimated at $14,500. Danh is known for his use of antiquated photographic processes—like the daguerreotype—to reflect on contemporary life. His recent work focuses on the San Francisco cityscape, rendering scenic vistas, sites of civic engagement, and familiar street scenes in exquisite detail. This piece is many things at once: an homage to the city he loves; a nod to pioneering photographers like Carleton Watkins and Eadweard Muybridge; and an effort to freeze an important moment in San Francisco’s history at a dynamic time of economic growth, disparity and displacement.

Another anticipated highlight is Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Calle Cuauhtemocztin, Mexico (1934), an historical gelatin silver print estimated at $14,000. A modern master, Cartier-Bresson was a pioneer of street photography, using a handheld camera to capture fleeting moments in everyday life. In 1934, the photographer spent a year in Mexico, working for several newspapers there. This iconic image of two prostitutes leaning casually out of a pair of windows was photographed during this time, and is representative of Cartier-Bresson’s ability to communicate an entire event, both emotional and human, in one picture.

Also featured is Church of God, Harlem, New York (c.1930) by Berenice Abbott, estimated at $4,500. A student of both Man Ray and Eugene Atget, Abbott is best known for her photographs documenting the evolution of New York in the 1930s. As New York transformed into a modern urban center, she captured the changing streetscape as skyscrapers pushed out colonial-era buildings. This photograph comes from her Changing New York series, a project funded through a Federal Works Project Administration from 1935 to 1939, which culminated in her book of the same title and numerous exhibitions of the project in New York and elsewhere.

Estimated at $2,200, Danny Lyon’s Chair (Improved), 1967 is also among this year’s offerings. A photographer, filmmaker, and writer, Lyon has documented the lives of individuals on the social and cultural margins over the past five decades. In 1962, while still a student at the University of Chicago, he hitchhiked to the segregated South to make a photographic record of the civil rights movement. Other projects have included photographing biker subcultures, exploring the lives of individuals in prison, and documenting the architectural transformation of Lower Manhattan. Lyon is currently the subject of a major museum retrospective, which opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art in June and will travel to the de Young Museum, San Francisco, in November.

A series of works by Minor White and his students Pat Harris, Bob Hollingsworth, Gene Petersen, William Heick, and Donald Ross is another stand-out lot. A prolific photographer, dedicated teacher, and cofounder of the influential photography magazine Aperture, White was one of the first faculty members in the photography department at the California School of Fine Arts, renamed the San Francisco School of Fine Arts in 1961. His work, and the work of his students—some of whom are also featured in this year’s auction—was presented in the landmark photography exhibition Perceptions (1954) at the San Francisco Museum of Art, which also featured work by Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham.

2016 AUCTION CO-CHAIRS: Amy Cole and Monique Deschaines

AUCTION COMMITTEE: Alexis Gordon, Miki Johnson, Ellen Shershow, and Robyn Wise

HONORARY COMMITTEE: Dale Cook, Clark Buckner, Julie Casemore, Lisa Cole, Dave Elfving, Chris Grunder, Allie Haeusslein, Susan Herzig, Paul Hertzmann, Emily Lambert, David Mahoney, Frank Mainzer, Doug Mandell, Kerry Mansfield and RJ MUNA, Andrew Owen, Liza Siegler and Aaron Ackermann, Francesca Sonora, Tabitha Soren, and Ken Weinberg.

ABOUT SF CAMERAWORK’S LEADERSHIP IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Founded in 1974 to support new ideas in photography and still thriving in its mid-Market Street location, SFC is among the longest-operating alternative art spaces in San Francisco. Throughout its 40-year history, the non-profit organization has remained at the heart of the city’s photography ecosystem by bringing cutting-edge artwork from around the world to local audiences. It was the first Bay Area organization to show work by highly influential artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Joel-Peter Witkin, Jim Goldberg, Shirin Neshat, Susan Meiselas, Richard Misrach, and Sally Mann. More recently, SFC was the first west coast venue for early-career work by Janet Delaney, Wang NingDe, Binh Danh, Paccarik Orue, Chris McCaw, and Jason Lazurus—all of whom have since risen to national prominence.

SF Camerawork also administers the annual Baum Award for an Emerging American Photographer, a launching pad for artists’ careers at important junctures in their practice and among the largest award of its kind in the country. Past recipients include: Suné Woods (2016); Jaime Warren (2014); Eric William Carroll (2012); Christopher Sims (2010); Sean McFarland (2009); Mike Brodie (2008); Lisa Kereszi (2005); Katy Grannan (2004); Luis Gispert (2003); and Deborah Luster (2001).

2016 AUCTION AT A GLANCE

SF Camerawork 2016 Benefit Auction
Saturday, October 29, 2016

Featuring more than 100 live and silent lots representing a range of work by both emerging and internationally distinguished artists, including Bernice Abbott, Roger Ballen, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Binh Dahn, Lewis Hine, Matt Lipps, Danny Lyon, William Wegman, Minor White, and more.

Time
Registration and party begins at 5:30 p.m.
Silent bidding begins at 6 p.m.

Live bidding begins at 7 p.m.

Location
SF Camerawork
1011 Market Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA

Preview Exhibition
October 24 through 28, 2016, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment (free and open to public)

“Curator Picks” Walkthrough with Sandra S. Phillips, SFMOMA Curator Emeritus

Thursday, October 27, 6 to 9 p.m.

Auctioneer
Rick Wester, Rick Wester Fine Art, New York

Tickets

$30 in advance; $40 at the door

Absentee Bidding

Bid forms available at sfcamerawork.org/auction or by calling 415.487.1011

More information, tickets, and pre-registration

415.487.1011 or visit sfcamerawork.org/auction