Lot 75
Ernst Haas(1921-1986)New York City, 1952
4 October 2021, 14:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$5,355 inc. premium
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Ernst Haas (1921-1986)
New York City, 1952,
Archival pigment print, printed 2017, titled, dated, numbered '4/30' by Alexander Haas, Estate Co-executor, in ink on the verso.
17 1/4 x 26in (43.8 x 66cm)
sheet sheet 20 x 30in (50.8 x 76.2cm)
Archival pigment print, printed 2017, titled, dated, numbered '4/30' by Alexander Haas, Estate Co-executor, in ink on the verso.
17 1/4 x 26in (43.8 x 66cm)
sheet sheet 20 x 30in (50.8 x 76.2cm)
Footnotes
Ernst Haas is one of the most respected photographers of the 20th century. While most commonly associated with his extraordinary, pioneering color work, he was also an accomplished black and white photographer (see lots 46 and 95.)
Born in Vienna in 1921, Haas bought his first camera in 1946 and after several photography-related jobs, he joined LIFE magazine in 1949 where his first feature article "Returning Prisoners of War," was published. The power of the article prompted Robert Capa, co-founder of Magnum photo agency, to invite Haas to join this very select group (Haas later served as its president from 1959-1960.) At around the same time, he began to experiment with color photography and his 24-page "Magic Images of New York" in LIFE in 1951 was the first feature-length story in color ever published by a magazine.
Haas's exhibition Ernst Haas: Color Photography, held at The Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1962, was a major milestone in the history of the medium. The show not only introduced a large new audience to the artist's work, but it was also the first solo exhibition of color photography ever mounted in an important institution.
On this, the centennial of Ernst Haas's birth, Bonhams is delighted to continue to acknowledge his vital contribution to photography with a handful of examples of some of his best-loved photographs. This group, although much too small, helps illustrate Haas's consummate brilliance in manipulating the light, shadow, form and pattern he found in his adopted home town of New York City.
