London: They are iconic images that have shaped fashion portraiture, inspired countless photographers and created lasting impressions on every aesthete. And now these famous pictures are up for sale.
Christie's London is to hold a Modern Photography auction selling famous photographs by the likes of Helmut Newton, Irving Penn and David Lachapelle.
Top lots will include Helmut Newton's famous Self Portrait with Wife and Models from 1980, which has an estimated sale price of £70k to £90k, as well as his stunning 10th Floor Hilton, Paris, from 1976, which has an estimated value of between £30k and £50k.
German-born Newton, neé Neustädter, died as a result of a car accident in Los Angeles in 2004 when he was aged 84.
The photographer, son of a factory owner, was of Jewish heritage and in 1938 was forced to flee the Nazis before the First World War. Finding his way to Australia some years later, he changed his name to Newton and embarked upon the photography career that would make his name.
Eighteen years after fleeing Germany, at the age of 36, he landed his first commission with Vogue, leading him to the path that would see him become one of the fashion photography industry's finest artists.
Today, his photographs are some of the most valued - and the most valuable - around.
Elsewhere in the auction there are photographs of Naomi Campbell shot by David Lachapelle and Peter Lindbergh, and legendary snapper Burt Glinn.
A triptych by Richard Avedon is what Christie's have called a 'stellar example of post-war photography' - a frieze-style portrait of Andy Warhol with friends from Studio 54, entitled Andy Warhol and Members of the Factory, New York City.
Taken in 1959, the auction house says the piece represents the eccentric extravagance of Warhol’s studio, marking the year in which the photographer adopted a multi-panel technique that suggests a reading of the group as a frieze of classical figures. The piece has an estimate of £25k to £35k.
'This is an opportunity to acquire some of the most important works of the history of photography, with works by 19th century masters, and a strong focus on post-war and fashion photography, led by the work of Irving Penn, Helmut Newton and Peter Beard,' Christie's said of the sale.
'The incredible roll call of subjects captured includes Picasso, Greta Garbo, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Marilyn Monroe, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Barack Obama.'
